Changing Fate
by SilverStorm0
Summary: The brilliant amnesiac Robin is found unconscious by a small group calling themselves 'Shepherds', and unbeknownst to Robin, this one event will be the starting point for an adventure unlike ever she could have had before. But during her travels she will be forced to make decisions that hold the fate of the future in balance. My take on Fire Emblem Awakening. CURRENTLY IN LIMBO
1. Chapter 1

**Mandatory Disclaimer: Nintendo and all other connected companies own the rights to Fire Emblem. I don't own these characters or any of the official merchandise related to them; I just want to write about them.**

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 **A/N Hello! This is my first story here, so it's going to be a bit shoddy in execution. I appreciate any and all reviews pointing out what I might be able to fix. About the story itself, FemRobin!Chrom is not going to happen. And I realize that there is someone else with a completed novelization of Awakening that is probably much better than this one is; go check out metallover's Invisible Ties if you haven't already. I'm not trying to step on any toes with this. In fact, metallover's work inspired me to try this in the first place. So, I ask that you give the story a chance.**

 **Also as a bit of a side note that is completely unrelated, I really did try to come up with a name that did not include the word 'fate' or 'fates' considering FE:14, but the creativity would not come to me.**

 **\- Storm 2016**

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 _Heavy breathing filled the near silence of the desert night as two figures made their way up what would have been a grand sandstone staircase, but it was tarnished by age and dread that hung thick in the air._

 _The smaller of the two was covered by a thick coat of black leather, the hood obscuring her face from view. In one hand was a thick tome, the other an elegant blade meant more for ceremony than combat, but was quite deadly in the right hands._

 _A few paces behind her ran a man in silver and blue armour holding a gleaming broadsword as he limped along, doing his best to keep pace with his unhindered companion._

 _A couple steps from the top, the woman hesitated, unsure if she wanted to enter the temple just above, also unsure of why she had stopped. The entire building radiated a kind of ancient magic, similar to that of dark magic but much more powerful and inherently evil._

 _"Come on," Insisted the blue-haired man, "Now is not the time to doubt yourself. You chose to come, and I can't have my tactician being indecisive." He obviously couldn't feel the malefic aura, which was not surprising considering the man was about as sensitive to magic as a brick._

 _"But Chrom… What if he does it again? I can't stop him, and I can't put you at risk again."_

 _"But he won't," Chrom said firmly, "He won't because I believe in your strength."_

 _"What if we can't defeat him?" The woman persisted, "Or if something happens to the army? What if-"_

 _"Stop," He cut her off, "'What if' nothing, Robin. You must believe that we can win, or we can't win. Every army needs it's tactician, but I need you here now so that we can end this. The Shepherds will lead the army well along with Flavia and Say'ri. You needn't worry so much over them; they're a tough bunch."_

 _"...But what if Ylisstol falls? I… I can't lose Morgan… And I know you can't lose the rest of your family." Chrom put a reassuring hand on her shoulder._

 _"We won't lose anyone, so long as you stop hesitating. I can't do this without you, so if you suddenly start doubting yourself everything will begin to fall apart." The woman nodded, whether in acceptance of the facts or for self-assurance, she wasn't sure, and followed her old friend through the wide doors already flung open into the sanctuary of Grima._

 _It was a large building of sickly gray marble, lit by the occasional brazier that only added to the unsettling atmosphere as any number of foes could lie in wait in the shadows beyond the light. With every step, the evil aura that the woman had long ago associated with Grima became stronger still, almost to the point of overwhelming. At the furthest end of the vaulted entry hall, a set of large double-doors marked the entrance to the doom or salvation of the world. Together, the two pushed open the dark oaken doors into what could be their final fight. As they did so, a pressure wave of the magic fell upon them like a breaking wave so powerful that even the magic-inept Chrom flinched._

 _A single skinny figure stood at the center of the ornately decorated round room, behind him the menacing altar dedicated entirely to the fell dragon. Even from the opposite side of the room, Robin could feel the thick centralization of the tainted magic around the altar. The sorcerer turned to greet them, not surprised at all. He had been waiting for the moment when his master would finally return to the world, and here it stood before him. He had been working for this for decades, and now it would all pay off._

 _"Welcome, children. You should be honored that you shall be the first to witness the return of the fell dragon." The sorcerer had an expectant look on his face as though they had just offered him a reward instead of charging in to kill him._

 _"Shut it, Validar," Chrom growled, "You know exactly what we're here for."_

 _"So be it." Validar snarled, the smile that had been on his face moments before long gone as he raised a hand shrouded in dark sparks._

 _Chrom charged headfirst at Validar, now almost entirely unaffected by his limp. Robin stood back and to the side, ready to assist him at any time. The men traded blows, Validar using the magic condensed around his hands like it was a physical weapon, until he fired it off direct at Chrom. The swordsman rolled into it, the spell missing him completely as he used his momentum to strike upwards. It would have connected had Validar now teleported into the air high above them, casting a spell that created a shock wave. Leaping to the side to avoid the blast, Robin let out a spell she had been readying at Validar, but before it connected he teleported to the ground away from them, loosing an orb of dark electricity at Chrom. The Exalt stumbled at the blast, momentarily incapacitated, and as he struggled to get to his feet Validar aimed a ball of fire at him. Robin lunged forwards, sending a simple thunder spell flying ahead of her to intercept Validar's. As the smoke cleared, Validar took a moment to pointedly glare at her._

 _Chrom had now recovered, and he charged in with a guttural warcry that would have made any normal man flinch, but had little effect on Validar, who calmly returned to his stance at the beginning of the battle - hands shrouded in dark sparks as he parried Chrom. This time, however, Robin opened her book - something she rarely did as she had long ago memorized the majority of it. But the spell she was looking to cast was one of the few she hadn't. A spell by the name of Ragnarok which she had only cast once or twice, and the effect was devastating._

 _Robin called out to Chrom, signalling she was ready, and he back away as quickly as he could, already knowing what destruction Ragnarok could cause. She released the flames gathered in the palm of her outstretched hand, and they spread out into a rough octagon before converged on Validar in a fiery explosion._

 _With a screech, the sorcerer fell to his knees and then the floor, slowly turning to ashes as he did so. The two stood panting for a moment as they turned to face each other. They had done it! They had-_

 _"This…this isn't over! Damn you BOTH!"_

 _The swordsman started turning at their fallen enemy's screech as the sorcerer launched a final spell at him, dissolving into the purple flames he had used his remaining life force to create. The tactician could see that her friend wouldn't be able to dodge or even block - there was no time. With a silent prayer to Naga, the woman did the only thing she could and pushed her old friend out of the way._

 _As a painful gasp escaped from her lips and the smell of scorched fabric and flesh flooded her senses she fell heavily onto the ground, gasping for breath as her partner scrambled to her side._

 _"That's the end of him," The swordsman said as he gently helped his wounded friend to stand, "Thanks to you we carried the day. We can rest easy now."_

 _A splitting pain that had nothing to do with her magical wound tore through Robin's head, and her vision took a red tint as it blurred. Fear pulsed through her, but it was muted, pushed aside by a silent voice that commanded her to commit an atrocity._

 _"At long last…" His words were muffled as he started to pull her upright._

Oh gods… not now. Validar's dead! This shouldn't be happening… Chrom… Get away from me!

 _"...What's wrong?" Chrom had noticed her shifted persona._

 _"Hey, hang on-" He was cut off as a dagger of electricity pierced his middle. He stumbled back, both of them standing now._

 _The tactician looked down at the leftover sparks bouncing on her palm, her senses returned to her and terror taking root._

 _"Oh gods..." She said, almost unable to speak because of the guilt being laid across her shoulders._

 _"This is not your- your fault…" Chrom said weakly as he held his wound. There was no time to get a healer; Lissa was back in Ylisse running the country with the Queen, and the other healers were with the rest of the Shepherds. All healing staffs were reserved for those who had devoted their lives to the practice, and Robin didn't have any vulneraries or elixirs with her; their supplies were running dangerously low and she couldn't risk to bring any and losing them. Even so, it might have been too late by the time she'd gotten one out. All of this and more sped through Robin's mind in a second as she searched for some way to save her friend. What use was a tactician of she couldn't think her way out of everything? If she couldn't turn a hopeless situation?_

 _"Promise me you'll escape this place. Please, go… Promise me… You'll be safe..." With that final plea, Chrom collapsed face-first, all life gone from his cooling body._

 _"Gods…" The woman's voice shook as she whispered, "Oh Gods, what have I done!?" She nearly shrieked, starting to shake as well "What have I… done?" Her voice fell in volume as she collapsed onto her knees next to her friend's body, hugging herself despite the loud protest her burns screamed as sobs wracked her to the core, all while a deep voice of something not human started laughing in the background, barely noticeable at first but growing louder every second until she could barely hear her own sobs of despair._

* * *

"Chrom, we have to do something…"

 _Ow… my head… No, ow my entire body. What just happened?_

"What do you propose we do?"

 _Hey… that voice sounds familiar._

"I… I dunno…"

 _Jeez, she's loud… and my head's still pounding… but she sounds familiar too…_

The woman opened her eyes, squinting into the mid-afternoon light. Beneath her was some sort of tallish grass by the feel of it. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out two figures above her discussing something - probably what they were going to do about her. One was a young blonde girl with pigtails who was wearing a yellow cleric's dress with some sort of steel cage underneath, who could only be described as cute and innocent given her posture and expression. The other was a slightly older man with dark blue hair and silver and blue leather armour with only one pauldron, who seemed much more mature than the girl in yellow, and was also pretty handsome.

"Uhhhh…" The woman on the ground moaned, her entire body aching. She had probably been there awhile since she was starting to stiffen.

"I see you're awake now." Said the man as both he and the girl leaned over her.

"Hey there!" The girl said cheerfully, smiling down at the woman.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know," The man chuckled as he held out an arm, the bare shoulder of which had a strange mark upon it, "Here, take my hand." The woman stretched out one of her of her own in return, vaguely noticing a purple tattoo of what appeared to be eyes. She would have to look at that closer later. Looking down at herself, she could feel her white hair in ponytails moving against the back of her hood, which was part of an ankle-length black coat she was wearing. The coat also had golden cuffs with the same color also present on a tie near the top and a pattern near the hem and her collar. Underneath she could see a simple cream coloured blouse, an almost skirt of sorts the same shade as the coat, a couple of belts, pants the same cream as her top and knee-high leather boots.

"Thank you, Chrom." The woman said, her headache fading slightly. Chrom cocked his head in confusion.

"So you know of me, then?" He asked, slightly wary.

"I… well, no. Your name… it just came to me." The woman answered truthfully as she steadied herself on unbalanced legs, stretching her stiff limbs.

"Then what's your name? It's hardly fair that you know mine already." Chrom inquired, taking a step back and looking her over.

"I… it's..." The woman wracked her brain, trying desperately to remember what her name was, "I… I'm not sure," She admitted, looking around, panic welling in her chest. She couldn't remember _anything_ , not just her name. "Where are we, exactly?"

"Oh!" The blonde girl exclaimed, "I've heard of this before! It's called amnesia." She said with a slightly smug grin.

"It's called a load of pegasus dung." Said someone behind Chrom. Standing there was a man in heavy blue with white trim armor, the reins of three horses in one hand and a stern sceptical look on his face. "How are we to be expected to simply accept that you know milord's name but not your own?"

"But it's the truth!" The woman exclaimed, still trying to remember something about herself. "I can't remember anything..." The man in heavy armour snorted.

"But what if it's true, Frederick? We can't just leave her here, alone and confused. It would not befit a Shepherd to let a sheep wander lost." Chrom retorted.

"All the same, milord, I must emphasize caution," Frederick almost said it with a sigh as if Chrom regularly took in random amnesiacs. "I would just ask that you be careful; 'twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

 _What's with all the shepherd analogies? Wait, I know what an analogy is? Note to self; apparently accrued knowledge is not impaired by memory loss._

"Of course. But you needn't act as though I'm a headless chicken." Chrom chuckled slightly and turned back to the woman.

"You'll be riding with the delicate one, my sister Lissa, to Southtown with us." Chrom informed the woman, to her slight disappointment. She had almost been hoping to ride with him...

"I am not delicate!" Lissa insisted as she turned on her brother then turned around to face the woman. "Please, ignore him. He can be pretty thick at times. But you're lucky the Shepherds found you! Brigands who have been a rude awakening." She said as she snickered at her brother.

"You keep referring to yourself as Shepherds, yet you're wearing full armour." The woman noted, nodding at Frederick. Chrom chuckled.

"It's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary over there."

"A title I wear with pride, as Gods forbid anyone else have an appropriate level of caution." Frederick nearly sighed this, as if they had had this conversation many times before.

"Come, let's get moving before it gets late." Chrom said as he motioned to the horses.

"Do I even have a say in this?" The woman questioned, looking from one of her... captors? Companions? Whoever they were to her, to the next.

"Peace, we'll hear all you have to say once we get to town." Chrom comforted her, "Besides, riding with Lissa isn't that bad." The woman winced, as apparently he had noticed her slight deflation.

"Hey!" Lissa protested as she started scrambling up the side of her steed, "Let's see how you feel after falling off a horse several times." She finished her statement with a groan and started rubbing her side to accentuate her point. By now the others were already on their horses, Lissa sitting side-saddle, and waiting for the woman to mount.

In one smooth motion, she jumped up behind Lissa with unexpected ease and grace, heedless of the bag swinging at her hips.

"Wow," Lissa's jaw had dropped, "How'd you do that? It took me, like, half an hour just to balance myself!"

"I suppose I've ridden before." The woman said with a shrug as she situated herself behind Lissa. It seemed perfectly natural that she had known how to mount.

"Hmph." Frederick puffed from his charger, who was outfitted in matching blue and white armour.

"What are you going to do with me? Am I your prisoner now?" The woman questioned as their horses started walking.

"No, not at all, so long as you prove not to be an enemy of Ylisse." Chrom reassured her as he pulled his horse alongside the one she shared with Lissa. On her other side Fredrick pulled up as well, though at a further distance.

 _Solid enough tactics. These people have definitely seen battle before. Or at least the knight has. Wait… what? I know tactics?_

"Ylisse? Is that where we are?" She asked, putting tactics out of her mind and chalking it down as something to think about later.

"You've never heard of the Halidom? Ha. Someone pay this actress, she plays quite the fool. The furrowed brow is especially convincing." Frederick sniped from her left.

"Frederick, please," Chrom said in an exasperated tone, "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse, and is presided over by our Exalt, Emmeryn." He explained to the woman. After a moment, he seemed to realize something.

"We've yet to introduce ourselves, don't we?" Chrom asked as the horses started trotting down a dirt path. "Well, my name is Chrom, but you knew that. With you is Lissa, who insisted on coming with me, and Frederick is our grumpy knight."

"Yes, because gods forbid one of us be sensible." Frederick deadpanned.

"Well, I'm Robin." The woman said as she took the reins from Lissa's inexperienced hands, stopping mid-motion as she realized what she had said.

"Huh. I just remembered that. It's one mystery solved, I suppose," Robin blew a few strands of long white hair out of her face and slightly adjusted the direction her horse was walking.

"Of course you did. What else have you conveniently remembered?" Frederick asked pointedly as he pulled ahead a few meters.

"Jeez, how do you put up with him?" Robin muttered under her breath, and Lissa giggled in response.

"You get used to him after a while." She said with a laugh.

Robin was about to say something else when they rounded a bend and the town came into view, and she stopped.

"Chrom! The town!" Lissa gasped. In front of them was a particularly ordinary-looking village, with a stone church at one end of a cobblestone plaza with a small stone bridge separating it from the shopping district, also located in the plaza. Compacted dirt paths connected all of the various houses around the town, but what offset the normality of the scene were the fires and apparent bandits running around like they owned the place.

"Damn those brigands!" Chrom cursed, "We've got to stop them. Lissa, you tie the horses somewhere safe with Robin. Frederick and I will take care of this." Chrom kicked his mount, pulling out an ornate longsword as he did. Frederick followed suit only with a heavy lance instead.

"Hiyah!" Robin shouted as she forced her horse into a gallop just behind the men, Lissa nearly shrieking from the sudden movement.

While Frederick charged ahead to scout, Chrom left his horse with the girls who were tying two of the horses to trees not far from the entrance to the town. Frederick was still on his charger, but the others didn't mention this so Robin assumed it was normal. Chrom followed Frederick into the town, and Robin was going to as well, but Lissa stopped her.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Lissa hissed as she grabbed Robin's sleeve.

"Helping them?" Robin answered, thoroughly confused. What was the problem with her going in too?

"How? They're actually fighting!" Lissa said in an exasperated tone. "You should stay here with the horses and wait for us."

"Wait wait, hold it," Robin waved her hand in front of her to stop Lissa. "You're going, but I can't? That can't be right." Lissa pulled a small ornate staff out of her horse's saddlebag.

"I can heal those doofuses when they get hurt." She said in a slightly smug tone, twirling the compacted healing staff around in one hand but failing miserably as it fell from her grasp.

"I can fight," Robin insisted as she opened the bag at her side for the first time. Inside were a few simple provisions; a waterskin, an old book and a fancily carved dagger in a just as ornate sheathe. Pulling out the dagger, she quickly ran through a set of training exercises built into her muscle memory.

"Fine! You can help you really want to," Lissa caved, "Just take care, okay?"

"I'll be fine," Robin assured Lissa. Something told her that she had fought before, and since the only thing she could do was follow her instincts she decided to trust them.

After sheathing her dagger, the two women ran into the town and were greeted by Chrom and Frederick, who had probably just finish clearing the direct area.

"Frederick, what did you scout?" Robin asked the knight as he flicked blood from his lance. He looked at her dubiously, but did answer. Probably because Chrom was looking at him to do so.

"Most of the brigands have congregated around the plaza, with a few more scattered through the rest of the town. Most of them have axes or swords, with a couple archers and a mage." He answered dutifully, taking her presence in stride. Almost as if someone had flicked a switch, Robin started running through different scenarios, carefully choosing the best ones.

"Frederick, you clear the southwest section of town, and try not to kill everyone - they may have useful information and we can put them through trials to punish them for their crimes. Chrom and I will clear the southeast. If anyone gets hurt, come back here were Lissa will be. Also try to set up a makeshift hospital for any wounded villagers. Once everyone's done we'll regroup here." Chrom nodded assent to the plan and Frederick begrudgingly agreed as well, while Lissa gave her a mock salute and giggled a little, probably happy not to be in the thick of battle.

Robin opened the bag at her side and pulled out the worn thick tome instead of the dagger she had been reaching for. Instead of putting it back, she flipped to one of the beginning pages on reflex and quickly glanced around it. It had various simple magic circles on one side and in neat handwriting on the other was a description of some sort and more writing underneath in a separate literary system that she could also read. The top of the page read 'Thunder'.

Frederick charged off to the southwest while Lissa busied herself asking the nearest households if she could use them as makeshift clinics. Nodding to herself, Robin put away the book, switching it out for the dagger, and turned to Chrom.

"You seem to have a keen eye for tactics," He noted. "And I see you have a dagger. You might want to drop that for a sword when the opportunity arises." He suggested as he turned and jogged off towards their objective, Robin following suit.

"Perhaps. For now we should focus on the task at hand." Robin retorted as the first of their enemies came into view - a couple of barrel-chested men in little more than pants with animal furs draped over their backs like miniature capes, both wielding axes. They were meandering around casually, one with a bottle of something presumably alcoholic in one hand with his axe laying lax in the other.

"You take left, I have right," Robin said as she brandished her dagger.

"No fair! Yours is drunk," Chrom complained as he ran.

The bandits were obviously not expecting to have to fight, probably from other villages simply giving in and letting them raid the town. The tipsy one Robin was barreling towards dropped the bottle, which shattered against the ground, splattering the ground with the liquid as the stench of alcohol spread to where she and Chrom were charging.

"Dagger, remember?" She said as she engaged her target, easily evading all of the drunken swings of his axe. As she parried the last one with the hilt of her dagger, she twisted the blade in such a way that cut into the bandit's wrist, making him shout as he dropped the weapon. With a strike from her pommel, he fell onto the ground unconscious. They took a moment to tie up the men and discard their weapons before continuing onwards.

Much the rest of the battle went like this, and when it didn't Chrom usually proved an adequate distraction so Robin could step in and finish her opponent.

By the time they had jogged back to the house Lissa was using as a makeshift clinic, they were out of breath and covered in minor scratches with Chrom sporting a more serious cut to his arm. Robin had also chosen to sheathe her dagger in return for one of the bandits' swords due to her lack of reach, and it seemed she was just as proficient with the longer blade. It didn't look as though Frederick was there, but Lissa was running back and forth with her staff, bandages and a couple of vulneraries, trying to make all of the seriously injured villagers as comfortable as possible. It appeared that a priest from the local church was also assisting her. With a sigh of relief, Lissa greeted then with a weary smile before taking one look at Chrom and frowning.

"Where's Frederick?" Robin questioned Lissa as she began mending Chrom's arm, the healer squinting in concentration as the light blue mist that accompanied healing magic slowly worked it's way up his arm, closing any scratches it encountered and leaving the large cut on his shoulder no more than a slight scar. Lissa slumped on her brother, panting as the exertion of healing so many people in such a short time obviously having taken its toll.

"He… he went back out to scout." Lissa managed as her brother set her on a nearby chair, still breathing heavily as if she had been fighting instead of them. Robin nodded as Chrom rolled his shoulder, testing it and flinching slightly as it did. Lissa rolled her eyes at this.

"You know that there's going to be phantom pain for awhile before your body realises it's been healed," She chided him, then grinned wickedly, a gleam coming into her eyes. "Hmm… y'know, I can't exactly move as is, so why don't you carry me?" She said as innocently as possible.

"Frederick can carry you when he gets back." Chrom deadpanned, turning his recently healed side away from his sister.

"Shouldn't you stay here and rest instead of coming with us as we finish dealing with these guys?" Robin asked Lissa, whose breathing was starting to return to normal.

"I'm supposed to get used to battle so that I can be of use to the Shepherds." Lissa explained in a way that explained nothing.

"Whatever," Robin shrugged as she turned towards the door in anticipation of Frederick returning. "Just stay back unless you need to, okay?" She said, glancing back at the young healer.

"I don't think Frederick'll let me do anything but." Lissa joked as the knight in question entered the house.

"Let you do what, milady?" He asked as he approached, Robin noticing that his breathing was normal, as if he hadn't just defeated a half dozen bandits and scouted twice. Even if he _had_ been riding a horse, his lance looked as though it wasn't exactly easy to wield.

 _And his armour is still perfectly clean..._

"Nothing, nothing." Lissa giggled, waving a hand in dismissal.

"What did you see?" Chrom interjected as Frederick raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"The remaining brigands have congregated at the church as a last stand, milord," He reported, standing to attention. "The leader, a few swordsmen, the archers and mage are all there, along with a few axemen standing watch with the sword-wielders."

"What is the layout of the plaza?" Robin asked, mentally preparing a loose map from what she had seen earlier.

"The plaza itself has several merchant stalls, then reaches a bridge which leads to the chapel." Frederick replied begrudgingly.

"What about the courtyard and side roads to the church?"

"The courtyard is fairly large and open, and there are paths but they wind through the town." Frederick growled, making it very clear that he was not pleased at all that he was being interrogated by her.

"Come on, then," Robin said, clapping her hands together. "The faster we get rid of them the faster we get to putting this town back in order."

"Indeed." Chrom agreed as he helped Lissa to stand. She wobbled slightly, but followed them outside just the same. Quickly making their way towards the central plaza, Robin debriefed them on the plan.

"Frederick, you're going to go around and bash the side with the archers; they are your top priority. Charge as soon as we give the signal, and get out once they're down so that you can regroup with us as quickly as possible. We'll need you for the final charge."

"And the signal would be?" Frederick asked, clearly unhappy to be taking orders from her.

"You'll know it when you see it," Robin teased. Turning on the siblings, she said, "Chrom, Lissa, you're with me. You charge on my word, and you'll stay back in case we need healing." Robin said as she pointed at them each in turn.

"What of the mage?" Frederick asked in a suspicious tone.

"I've got that covered." Robin said with a wink. Frederick was clearly going to object to her vague answer, but they had reached the point where they were to split, so he silently peeled away from the group, settling to glaring at her instead.

The rest of them hid behind a low-standing wall leading into the plaza. The swordsmen were wandering around on guard duty, but they didn't seem very attentive and on the bridge stood the axemen as a sort of Honour Guard to the men behind them, who were the long-ranged attackers and one very large barrel chested man who was strong-arming a woman from the town.

Robin could hear Chrom grinding his teeth at the scene, clearly taking all of his willpower to restrain himself and Lissa looked on disgusted. That would have probably been Robin's reaction as well, but she had to keep a level head so the others didn't kill themselves. Pulling out her book in one hand, she thumbed through the pages looking for a few specific ones. After finding them, she flipped back to the Thunder page and nodded to Chrom.

With a guttural cry, he charged the unsuspecting brigands, startling some of them a few shades paler before they gave muted war cries of their own running to meet him. At the same time, Frederick burst out next to the archers and dispatched them, running his lance clean through one then ripping it out to slash at the other. The mage took aim for Frederick, but before he could do anything Robin extended her open hand and shouted, "Thunder!" A jolt of electricity jumped straight from her hand to the mage, and he dropped like a rock. He wasn't dead - there wasn't nearly enough power in her spell to do that - but he would be out for awhile.

Behind her, Robin could hear Lissa gasp in awe, and Chrom looked back startled but quickly recovered and began slashing through his opponents. His style was quite unorthodox; he kicked, punched and headbutted his opponents to great effect, though not as much as he swung his large blade, which sliced neatly through whatever it came across, be it armour or flesh, though he did try to restrain himself and show mercy when possible.

Robin could see out of the corner of her eyes that Frederick had flown from the fallen archers, presumable to circle back around. She also sent out more Thunder spells whenever Chrom needed the backup, acting as a mage more so than a swordswoman, though she did pull out her blade when there wasn't enough time to cast.

From beyond the bridge, Robin could hear the desperate screams of the woman.

"G-get him away from me! Please! Please help m-" She was cut off as the bandit leader roughly grabbed her face in one huge hand. He was of a large build, sporting attire not unlike some of the other axe-wielding bandits, but had a thick streak of red warpaint running diagonally across his stomach to one hip and the same color streaks on his cheekbones.

"We can't 'ave you shouting like that, lass. Ya never know if ya might 'urt my feelings," He said in a rough voice as he grinned wickedly and moved his other arm around her torso. "Besides, we could 'ave a bit of fun with ya later so lon' as ya don't struggle too much." At this her eyes widened and she let out a stifled shriek. To them, the leader shouted over the pandemonium of battle, "Here, sheepy-sheep! Come to the slaughter!" He mocked them then turned his attention back to the woman he was handling coarsely. "Don't you worry, lass. Soon as this's over we're goin' to spend some quality time together. You'd best get used to it soon." He said, licking his lips in anticipation.

For a moment, a totally unnecessary and oddly-placed thought popped into Robin's mind. _Even the bandits are making shepherd analogies?_ Then shook it off. She could think about it after they slaughtered the guy.

This taunting just infuriated both her Chrom further, but only he had reacted, now a storm of fury setting its sights on the leader and tossing aside anything in it's way, no longer bothering to spare any of them. Frederick soon joined them, and from the way he fought he had also heard the leader's barbs and foul treatment of the woman. Robin probably would have joined their frenzy too had she not still been in full-on 'Tactician Mode', as she was starting to call it, though she did stop sparing the foes she could have.

As soon as the enemy archers were taken out by the very intimidating mounted knight, the leader backed up to the church doors. When his mage fell, he dropped his hand from the woman's mouth to his axe's hilt. When even his personal guard was felled he brought the axe up to the woman's throat as he surveyed the destruction before him caused by only three people, his face ashen pale. They surrounded him in a loose semi-circle, pinning him against the barred church entrance with Lissa standing behind them trying to look intimidating but failing miserably.

"S-stay back!" He roared, pressing his axe against the maiden's throat for emphasis. A thin line of red started to well at the edge and slowly made its way down the curve of the blade, though there was not enough to actually drip off.

"Put. Her. Down." Chrom enunciated every word. "Or I will have my companion strike you down before you can move an inch."

"Bwa-hahaha!" Garrick barked, the fear on his face starting to ebb away to be replaced with a confidence unseen beforehand. "You can't do a thin'!" He roared, "You're just tryin' to scare me off! Well… it won't work."

With a flick of her wrist and the word 'Wind', Robin sent a gust of blue-green magic wind to separate the bandit from the woman. Frederick ran in and caught the woman from falling while Chrom immediately cornered the bandit with Falchion at his neck. Within a few moments the bandit no longer had a head.

As Robin surveyed the corpses littering the plaza, she was fairly surprised and unsettled that she could feel no remorse for having taken some of those lives. She had killed in cold blood with no hesitation when she could have saved them so that they could face imprisonment or even the death penalty, and this fact almost made her shutter. Gazing at the blood-stained sword she had relieved one of the bandits of, she had to wonder what kind of person she had been.

As Frederick set the woman down, Robin shook herself out of her thoughts. She could ponder her nonexistent past after she had decided what to do next. With nothing but the clothes on her back and the items in her bag, she had almost nothing of her own and no idea where she was.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked as Lissa finished healing the townswoman, which she had been doing as Robin had been deep in thought. The woman nodded shakily before managing to get out a breathy 'thank you'. One of the other townspeople came and took the woman's arm, slowly leading her to the nearest house.

"Glad that nasty business is over." Robin commented as more townspeople started gathering around them. Others still started working to put out fires and rebuild the worst of the damage. It seemed the town would thrive again soon.

"Yeah!" Lissa chimed. "Lucky for the town we were close by. But wow! You were incredible! Swords, sorcery AND tactics! There isn't anything you can't do!" She giggled a little and started bouncing on the balls of her feet, almost all exhaustion forgotten in light of Robin's miraculous skills.

"Yes, but you're certainly no helpless victim, that much is sure." Chrom said in an impressed tone, which made Robin flush a little.

"Yes, and perhaps she can even tell us how she came to be here." Frederick deadpanned.

"Yeesh! You still hate me after I led you to victory with as few civilian casualties as possible? Stone cold!" Robin mockingly shivered and rubbed her hands together. Aside from earning a laugh from Lissa and a chuckle from Chrom, this did nothing for her image towards Frederick.

"Seriously though," She said, quite sober now. "I haven't the faintest clue why I have no memories until this afternoon, nor why I'm so skilled. But I have told you everything I know so far."

"You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough." Chrom said as he sheathed Falchion.

"And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its council as well?" Frederick asked it as if he knew the answer. Chrom turned to him.

"I don't even have to say." His sister snickered a little at this.

"If that is your decision," Frederick said politely and bowed slightly. "But did you notice, milord? They spoke with Plegian accents." Chrom nodded.

"Yes. It seems Plegia has sent another 'gift' to us." Robin cocked her head slightly, confused by the new terminology.

"Plegia? Is that a neighboring nation?" She asked.

"Yes. But they're not exactly neighborly," Chrom answered. "Plegia often sends 'unofficial' raiding parties into our territories, hoping to instigate war."

"And it's the poor, defenseless people that suffer!" Lissa stamped her foot as she said it.

"They're not completely helpless," Frederick reminded her. "They have Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept in your anger, for it will cloud your judgment."

"I know, I know," Lissa said it as if Frederick reminded her of this often. "I'll get used to it, though."

One of the villagers, an elder, approached Chrom.

"Thank you for helping us, milords! In a few hours we can make you a feast and hospitality as payment." He offered.

"Thank you for the generous offer," Frederick started, "Any other time we would have graciously accepted it, but we must hurry back to Ylisstol."

"Dark meat only for me," Lissa politely ordered, "And no salt in the soup I simply- Wait, what?! Frederick, it's almost dark!" She complained once she can realized what the knight had said.

"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our beds of twigs and such. I believe you said you would 'be getting used to it'." He said with a smug tinge to his voice and a smile playing at his lips.

"Frederick?" Lissa asked, suddenly downtrodden. "Sometimes I hate you." Robin laughed.

"You've quite the stern lieutenant." She joked as Lissa turned to her.

"I can think of a few other names…" The healer said under her breath.

"He only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe." Chrom laughed.

"Noted." Robin replied, grinning.

"You do realize I _am_ still present?" Frederick interjected, no longer smiling.

"We know, Frederick." Chrom said trying and failing to stop chortling.

"You're as amusing as ever, milord," The knight said in a weary tone. "But I must remind you that we must leave posthaste."

"Of course," Chrom nodded, then turned to Robin. "Would you like to come with us? We could always help you decide what to do next. Ylisstol has many options for one with your skills." He offered. Before Robin could react to the sudden gesture, Lissa decided to chime in.

"Awe, I think Chrom just _likes_ you," She teased, a mischievous grin plastered onto her face.

" _Lissa_!" They said simultaneously. Chrom's face was now pink, and Robin could feel her own cheeks start to burn. After a moment, however, all three burst out laughing.

"Th-thank you, Chrom." Robin said with a polite nod after she had recovered. It wasn't every day someone wakes up with no memories, gets taken in by three strangers, end up saving a town from bandits with those said strangers, and then are invited to travel with said strangers, she reflected. "I just have one teeny tiny question." She said.

"And that would be?"

"Can someone please explain to me why everyone keeps talking about shepherds?" The air was silent for a few moments before Chrom and Lissa fell into a fit of laughter again. The young healer doubled over in her fit and even Frederick was trying to suppress a small grin of his own, much to Robin's chagrin.

"Of course, of course." Chrom finally managed, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "We'll explain on the way. Come on, then. We're not gaining any daylight." The swordsman said as the group turned and left the town, the pre-twilight turning the sky orange as the merry band traveled onward, one member larger than it had been that morning.

* * *

 **A/N As a bit of a continuation of the A/N above, I would like to give credit where credit is due. I will be using a few of metallover's ideas about the Fire Emblem world in my own story, such as, but not limited to, how magic works and the term Wing Commander. Now, this is not me trying to copy/paste his story. I'm not trying to create an AU in which the dread Love Triangle of Doom will ever exist. All joking aside, I'm not trying to plagiarize his work, and I do suggest you check it out.**

 **So, how'd I do? Is it terrible, passable, or good? Please let me know, I want to improve as much as I can. Also I would like some artwork to use as the cover of this and I can't draw with a mouse, so please send some in! Preferably art that does not depict a ship; I don't want to anger the masses of shippers with one that a particularly vocal group might hate. Then again, that's going to be hard considering I've already debunked FemRobin!Chrom... Or have I? Yes, I did just do that. No one will be able to rely on me for the definitive ships unless it's confirmed in the actual story, for I will continue to pull your leg (sorry not sorry). Anyways, thanks for reading this far, and please give me some feedback; any at all would be greatly appreciated. Until next time!**

 **\- Storm 2016**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mandatory Disclaimer: Nintendo and all other connected companies own the rights to Fire Emblem. I don't own these characters or any of the official merchandise related to them; I just want to write about them.**

* * *

 **A/N Chapter 2 and I've already been hit hard with writer's block. This is going to be _great_...**

 **For those of you that haven't noticed, I've made a few changes to Chapter 1. It's nothing really important, but you might want to go back and read the second A/N for everything to make slightly more sense, but again; it's not that important. Now that I think about it, I probably should have waited for my editor/proofreader(s) to go through more than half the chapter before uploading it... Oh well.**

 **Still need some cover art for this, so feel free to send some in, please and thank you in advance.**

 **Thanks for reading, and please give some feedback!**

 **-Storm 2016**

* * *

"Chrom, we've been traveling for _hours_ , and it's dark out now!" Lissa complained loudly from behind Robin. Ever since leaving Southtown, Lissa had been whining about one thing or another. For the first time that evening she finally agreed with one of those complaints. Robin had also taken over directing the horse they shared since Lissa was obviously inept at it.

"The horses are tired," Robin supplied, partially because it was true and partially to get Lissa to stop talking. "And it is getting quite dark." Behind her, Lissa squirmed in her seat, probably making an exaggerated motion to Chrom.

"See? Robin agrees!" Lissa exclaimed, giving a squeak as she nearly fell off the horse in her erratic motioning, only staying seated by Robin's good reflexes.

"Fine, we can rest." Chrom finally caved as they stopped in a clearing. They had been traveling through an evergreen forest for some time along a slight path through the trees. The stars in the dark sky could be made out through the treetops. Various constellations vividly covered Robin's vision as she craned her neck upwards trying to soak in the entire night sky at once.

"Now it's really dark out!" Lissa complained even more as they unpacked their supplies, and Robin began to sense a theme with her. "And the bugs are out! The bugs that buzz in your ears and bite you and- Agh!" The rest of them turned towards Lissa, all with their hands on their weapons. Lissa was spitting and wiping off her tongue with her hands.

"Won goph in mah mouph!" All of them relaxed, minus the healer who was still freaking out over her tiny assaulter.

"Aw, come on, Lissa." Chrom started, his tone flecked with humor, "Hardship builds character. Surely a bug can't be that bad."

"Ptooey! Bleck! Yeeeeuck... I think I swallowed it…" Lissa groaned before turning on her brother. "I've built _quite_ enough character for today!" She snapped, plopping down on a nearby log and crossing her arms.

"Come on, Lissa," Robin said gently. "Help me clear the area so that we can set up camp, and the boys will go hunting. _Right boys_?" She finished with a note of finality in her voice. If Lissa just gave up and refused to help everything would go slower and they would get less rest, making the journey tomorrow even harder than it would have been. Frederick glared at being ordered around, but nodded begrudgingly when Chrom hastily agreed.

"Fine," Lissa sighed and stood up. "Let's just get this done."

Chrom and Frederick left with their respective weapons to stab whatever they could find, while Lissa helped Robin clear the area and set up a fire ring before tending to the horses while Robin gathered firewood. Just as they had gotten the fire blazing, the men came back with a large animal hanging between them.

"Bear?" Lissa asked flabbergasted as the two placed their catch on the ground. "You caught a bear?!" As the healer struggled to put her thoughts into words, everyone else set to work cleaning and gutting the thing.

They set the first chunks of meat out to cook as Robin began rationing out their other food supplies, mostly consisting of dried fruit, hardtack and cheese.

"You shouldn't be messing with the food chain!" Lissa kept insisting throughout the entire process until Robin told her to refill their waterskins in a nearby brook she could hear murmuring.

"You could have at least _tried_ to catch something normal people eat…" The healer grumbled as she went off to complete her task.

"Is she always this difficult?" Robin asked quietly as Lissa disappeared from sight.

"Usually," Chrom answered, which made both of them chuckle. A glare from Frederick silenced the two, but somehow made the whole situation funnier and made her laugh under her breath. Eventually she regained control over her lungs, but still had a huge grin plastered to her face.

By the time Lissa returned, burdened by the four full skins, the others had finished their tasks and were sitting around the fire talking while they ate. Or rather, Robin and Chrom were talking as Frederick watched warily.

"It's been too long since I've eaten bear." Chrom sighed as he finished his plate off.

"How do you even eat that stuff?!" Lissa had resigned herself to nibbling at the dried rations. "It smells like boots!" She exclaimed as Robin finished her portion of bear. "No, wait, I take that back. Boots smell better!"

"Come on, Lissa, meat is meat." Chrom tried to reason with her, but his sister just turned her back on him. Robin personally didn't see what the big deal was. She didn't have any memories to compare the bear to, so she supposed that was part of why she didn't mind, but it wasn't that bad. She also noticed that Frederick hadn't touched his bear either.

"Aren't you going to eat that?" Robin motioned to the meat on his wooden plate.

"Er, no. I'm not hungry. I...I had a big lunch. Yes, that's it." The knight fumbled his words, a thin smile on his lips, obviously trying to cover the fact the he didn't like it.

"Oh well," Robin shrugged. "More for me." She said as she reached over and slid Frederick's portion of bear onto her own plate. She felt that under normal circumstances, he would have objected and given her some kind of lecture, but the knight stayed silent.

"I suppose anything would taste good after someone hadn't eaten for days," Lissa commented as Robin dug into the meat.

"I'm just ignoring the taste," She admitted after swallowing, "It really doesn't taste that good. But as Chrom so eloquently said, 'meat is meat'." Robin quoted before finishing the last of the bear on her plate. Chrom chuckled at this.

"Come on, it's getting late," He said as he stood. "We'd best get some sleep while we can." The everyone, Robin included, nodded or murmured assent, and it wasn't long before she could hear the steady breathing of sleep. She had volunteered earlier to set the rest of the bear meat out to smoke so it wouldn't spoil, and would probably have joined her new companions in sleep had something not been on her mind.

Lying face up, her coat sprawled beneath her as a bedding of sorts, Robin extended one of her arms upwards to look at the tattoo on the back of her hand. It was like three sets of eyes in columns, the two sides intersecting in a small loop at the bottom, all drawn in a shade of purple.

Chrom had told her that the mark on his shoulder was a birthmark of sorts that ran in his family, so maybe it was like that.

For whatever reason if she looked at it for too long, the back of her mind hurt as if trying to remember what it was for and she got chills. Robin let her arm drop to the ground. Something about the marking felt ominous, and it was infuriating not knowing why. Or, for that matter, not know anything about her past. How could she consciously trust herself with these people if she didn't know what she had done or what she deserved?

She could be a mass murderess and not know all the blood that was on her hands. It was worse not knowing because there was always a chance that she wasn't a criminal, which made the prospect of her actually being one all the scarier. Pulling on a pair of gloves Chrom had graciously provided her with, she sighed as she settled back down

 _My thought process is the truly scary thing here,_ Robin snorted at herself as she finally drifted off into the bliss of sleep.

* * *

Chrom woke suddenly, something in the air jolting him out of sleep. Sitting up quietly, he glanced around. The dying embers of the fire were glowing eerily in the dark of night; even the stars seemed to be dimmer than they had been earlier.

Robin had insisted that her coat was more than enough to keep her warm, and seemed to be slumbering soundly even without a bedroll. Chrom had been tempted to ask her to join the Shepherds back at Southtown, but the right moment never seemed to come and he wanted to see more of her tactical abilities before he asked. During their chat at dinner, she had shown a wealth of not only tactical knowledge, but all-around intelligence and wisdom, safely quelling his doubts of her abilities.

Frederick was on his back, still wearing his armour. He always kept it on for some reason only the Gods knew. Lissa was sprawled out underneath a scratchy blanket, and Chrom chuckled under his breathe when he noticed her drooling slightly.

Standing up, he scanned the tree line still in the firelight. Was it just him or did it seem more ominous? Deciding to walk for a bit to clear his sleep-addled mind, he reflexively reached for Falchion to put in its' scabbard at his waist.

"Hey, brother… where are you going?" Lissa stirred from her sleep, perhaps roused by the same thing that had awoken him.

"Nothing. Just going for a walk. Go back to sleep." Chrom tried to persuade her, but knew it probably wouldn't work.

"No way," Lissa yawned as she subconsciously ran a hand through her tangled bed-head. "Now that I'm up there's no way I'm gonna go back."

"Fine, come with me," Chrom said, grateful to, still trying to figure out what was wrong, not that his sleepy mind would help much. Lissa stood, yawned again and walked towards him, reaching out for his hand once she was there. It had been awhile since they had held hands; the last time was probably when Lissa had still been a child.

They started off into the woods like that, hand-in-hand. They hadn't gone far when he realized what was wrong. The night was deathly quiet, not so much as a mosquito buzzing in their ears when earlier Lissa had accidentally swallowed one. The cicadas had also gone silent as well as the other night animals, and no birds could be heard as background noise.

Just as Chrom fully awakened from the doldrums of sleep, he could hear a loud ripping sound as the ground beneath his feet shifted. An earthquake?! But they never occurred here. Closer to the border with Regna Ferox there were some, but those were far and few between, usually never doing nothing more than rattle the ground slightly.

"Lissa, run." Chrom commanded his sister in a stern tone, grateful that his exponentially rising panic somehow didn't show through his voice.

"Wha…?" She was rubbing her dreary eyes, still confused by the cloud of sleep that hung in her mind. Then she saw what Chrom had. A huge piece of earth had split the forest floor as if only paper, an ear-splitting scraping tearing at his ears as the fissure deepened, fire spewed from the cracks.

" _Run!_ " He shoved Lissa to accentuate the point, bolting after her in a scattered attempt to escape the destruction ravaging the forest behind them. More fire spit itself in front of them, trees toppling as their branches caught ablaze. Taking a sharp turn to avoid fallen logs, they jumped down a natural ledge, momentarily safe from the fire.

"Chrom!" Lissa screeched, pointing at something behind him. There, above the treetops, a huge eye had opened in midair, clearly summoned by a magic of sorts. Suddenly the cat-like pupil dilated, and vaguely human figures seemed to be reaching out of it. Two of them fell like sacks of flour, emerging from the eye, outstretched arms first. They rose in jagged, rigid motions, black steam hissing from their joints and mouths. Their skin seemed to be a shade of bruise purple and they wore little but pants and shoulder guards, but what caught and held Chrom's gaze where the wicked axes they held.

"Lissa, stay back." He commanded, his voice much calmer than he actually was. She squeaked in response, backing up as Chrom drew Falchion and held it in a two-handed defensive stance.

One of the creatures suddenly bolted at him, it's earlier sluggishness all but gone. With a screeching groan it felled its axe in a wide downward arc, Chrom just barely blocking. He twisted the axe out of the way, sliding Falchion past the thing's guard. He slashed in a way that would have nearly sliced a man in two, but the only thing it seemed to do was make the thing leak more black mist. With a scraping creak, the monster's head twisted around in a way that would have broken its neck, but it seemed unbothered by it. It took advantage of Chrom's surprise and twisted around to lash out at him. Using its momentum against it, the swordsmen sidestepped and hit it in the back with his pommel, knocking it to the ground. Turning, he stabbed it in the back and, after a moment of screeching, the horror dissolved completely into mist.

"Eeeek!" Chrom pulled Falchion out of the ground as he looked behind him. The second creature was advancing upon Lissa, who was trying to wield a stick as a sword. It was slowly shambling at the moment but if the other was any indicator it wouldn't remain that was for long. As if on cue, it sprinted at Lissa. Chrom cried out, trying to reach his sister, but there was no time. Even as he ran he could tell he wouldn't make it.

Just as the thing made it to Lissa, Chrom closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see it. Instead the loud clang of metal on metal rang out, and his eyes snapped open to see someone guarding Lissa, holding the axe at bay with a sword balanced on his shoulders.

"Help!" The man called out after Chrom had skittered to a halt.

"Right." He called back as he charged, not bothering about the stranger yet. The monster turned as Chrom charged, lifting his axe from the stranger's sword. The blue-haired swordsman slashed at it's head while the stranger turned and cut at the thing's stomach. In an instant it became the deathly black mist and Chrom could breathe for a moment. The stranger had sheathed his sword and had turned to face the siblings. He was wearing a strangely effeminate dark mask shaped like a butterfly, and his hair was very nearly the same shade as Chrom's.

"Quite the entrance," Chrom commented as he held Lissa's arm, the princess trying to steady herself.

"Now is not the time for idle conversation," The stranger said as he turned away from them. "More of these monsters are coming." It was true. More of the creatures were appearing from the eye, but as he looked around a loud crashing brought Chrom's attention behind him. Charging out of the woods, Frederick and Robin burst into the clearing.

"Milord, milady, are you unharmed?" Frederick asked as Robin scrambled from the back of his horse.

"Uggh… not doing that again." Robin groaned as she tottered around trying to find her balance. "So, what are we doing?" She asked as she pulled out her tome.

"Killing those," The stranger said as he pointed towards the monsters.

"What're y- oh my Gods what are those?!" Robin's question suddenly changed as she spotted the monsters. "Are there usually undead-y monsters around here?"

"No, I've never seen them before." Chrom responded mutely, keeping an eye on the fact that the monsters seemed to be congregating for an all-out charge.

"Okay, I can work with this," Robin said while she cracked her knuckles, drawing attention to the fact that she was wearing the gloves he had lent her. "Frederick, you'll be at the head of the charge to break their lines, just don't get too far ahead," Robin had a crazed light in her eyes that was only there while she was storming up tactics, and it almost made Chrom scared of her. "You - yes, you in the mask. Don't even think of slinking away, you'll be flanking him with Chrom. I'll be just behind casting spells and Lissa, you stay by my side. You'll be safest there."

Just as the tactician finished dishing out orders, another loud cracking sound could be heard from the woods, accompanied by loud cursing and a girlish yelp. Chrom grinned as he recognized the voices and a horse pushed past a group of the monsters, scattering them, and came to a halt just in front of him. Atop the horse was the red-headed cavalier Sully, her ridiculously short messy hair making her slightly difficult to distinguish from men even while she was wearing her breastplate. She was also swearing up and down at the man behind her, a frilly archer who was doing his best to look dignified while trying not to fall off the horse, which only made it more hilarious when he did.

"My dear lady!" He exclaimed to Sully as he quickly righted himself and ran a hand through his silvery-blue messed-up hair, "Such vulgar things should not be said from the mouth of someone so charming!"

"Try telling that to someone who'll listen, ya pompous snob." Sully retorted as she rotated each of her shoulders in turn.

"Sully! Virion! It's nice to see friendly faces." Chrom greeted them with a wave.

"Chrom, this woman has been riding to find you nonstop ever since she found out you had gone off with only Frederick and Lissa," Virion turned towards him, a slight smile showing his relief of being off the horse. "And I just had to accompany her on her quest to find you. It is not befitting of one of my station to let a woman wander off alone."

"You're more girly than I am!" Sully barked, "And you know full well I left because this guy always has fun stuff happen to him while we're not around!" Sully exclaimed as she slapped Virion's back, which nearly made him fall over. "Like that one time when-"

"Okay! That's enough!" Chrom stopped her before she could go any farther, the memory making him queasy just by thinking of it. "We're kinda in a dire situation right now, and now's not the time to be reminiscing about that." He quickly changed the topic, hoping that Robin wouldn't ask about it later.

"Who are they?" Said tactician asked him as she jabbed a thumb in the direction of the newcomers.

"Shepherds," Chrom answered, "And they'll listen to your orders." The gleam lighted in her eyes again, and Chrom nearly had to take a step back. She really was scary when she got like that.

"Ah, how lovely to meet you, my lady," Virion addressed Robin with his overly flowery speech, completely disregarding everything that had just happened. "What can I do to please one as fair as yourself?"

"Can it, Ruffles," Robin grunted casually as she glanced back at the creatures. " _Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur_ ; that man is wise who talks little," Chrom blinked at Robin's use of an old language, dead to most of the world. Chrom had never been able to speak it as his older sister had, but he knew it when he heard it.

"Sully, Frederick, once they charge go to opposite flanks in a pincer attack and cause some havoc. Lissa, change of plans. You're staying with the archer here while I go to the front lines with those two." She motioned to Chrom and the stranger with that.

"R-ruffles?!" Vision finally stammered, aghast at her apparent nickname for him and completely ignoring her warning against talking. "You see here. I am the Archest of Archers! The one that gives good name-" Sully slapped his back again to shut him up, and it worked quite effectively.

"I like you." The cavalier said to Robin with a snicker.

"They're going to charge." Frederick warned.

"For Ylisse!" Chrom cried out as the two knights galloped to their respective positions. The moment they touched into the enemy waves, total chaos ensued. Sully was practically throwing her lance around in a way that pretty much guaranteed anything in front of her to fall down dead, not that her brute force didn't help. Frederick was untouchable, his pristine armour gleaming in the weak moonlight.

Chrom and the others charged, their respective weapons in-hand. Curiously enough, the stranger used a light rapier instead of the much longer two-handed sword he had been using earlier, not too different from Chrom's own rapier that he had lent to Robin for the time being, since her dagger was too short for most combat and the bandit's weapon she had picked up was a piece of scrap metal.

Chrom was the first to hit the monsters' now completely unorganized charge, not that it was exactly 'organized' to begin with. Most of them appeared to be weaponless, swinging around their razor-sharp claws instead. Those ones were also wearing potato sacks over their heads, small slits betraying their glowing red eyes.

Chrom took one of those out with a swing of the Falchion, turning to block another of them from hitting the stranger's exposed back. With a nod, the mysterious man went back to killing the monsters. Every few seconds an arrow whizzed past them, each hitting their mark and taking out one of the creatures or crippling it so one of the others could. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see bright flashes of light from Robin's mix of spellcasting and bladework.

He had been impressed when the woman had pulled tactics out of thin air, even more so when she had pulled magic out of her sleeves. But rewriting almost entire plans in a few seconds on the fly? In the few lessons he had had on tactics, he remembered his tutors saying it was incredibly difficult to do so.

A particularly large monster blundered out of the ranks, trampling over comrades that didn't get out of its way. With an animalistic cry, it threw a hand axe at Chom. The weapon barely missed, grazing his arm as he dodged.

From behind him, three arrows flew into the beast - one to its eye, one to the neck and the third sticking out of its chest. The monster gave a shriek of rage as it tore the arrow out of its head and snapped the shafts of the other two, black mist seeping from the wound. In a few bounding steps it was on top of him, and in a sweeping arc it nearly decapitated him as he fell ungraciously onto the ground.

As he went to deflect another hit from the monster's axe, he was a second too slow and the weapon buried itself into his pauldron, scraping the shoulder beneath. The monster tried to pull its weapon out of the armour to no avail, so it stepped on Chrom's chest to gain leverage. He cried out as fire burned through his torso, his ribs cracking and the wind being knocked out of him. Just as he thought he couldn't take any more pressure, a powerful blow threw the monster off of him. The stranger charged as he followed up on the attack, letting out a wordless cry as he buried his rapier into it's head. As Chrom painfully got to his feet, the monster dissolved into the black mist around the sword.

"Go to Lissa," The stranger instructed him, "You're no good like this." Nodding mutely, Chrom fell back as quickly as he could, his insides screaming with every motion.

* * *

As the mounted knights struck, the wave of monsters that loosely resembled ranks fell to chaos before Robin's eyes. It seemed that the creatures weren't very smart despite being deadly. She had also decided to call the stranger 'Mask' for the sake of simplicity.

She charged beside Chrom holding the rapier he had lent her, and the three sword-wielders crashed into the disorganized creatures and tore them apart, each one disappearing into black mist that reeked of evil. Perhaps the others didn't sense it as she did because they didn't have a sixth sense for magic. Both cavaliers, the stranger and Chrom charged around unheeded while both Lissa and Virion seemed to be avoiding the smoke-like mist.

She strung together her attacks so that they flowed naturally, a slash leading into a spell or finishing the work of a spell with a stab. The fight was going well for them - Sully and Frederick absolutely dominated the battlefield with their superior range, Chrom, Mask and Robin herself were steadily working through the horde, Virion covering them and Lissa whenever a monster slipped past.

That is, until an unusually large one monster, most likely the leader judging from brute strength alone, managed to pin Chrom to the ground. Robin cursed at his clumsiness, about to send a more powerful version of the simple 'Wind' spell, 'Elwind', to knock the thing off of him, when Mask stepped in and took it out.

 _Strange, I didn't think Mask would care that much…_

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she released her readied spell at the nearest monster. When a moment ago it may have dodged, it simply let her attack, letting out a muffled shriek as it turned to smoke. Looking around, she could see that the others were having just as little resistance. Within minutes the rest of the evil creatures had been completely dealt with.

 _Perhaps they rally around the leader._

As they all regrouped, Frederick started the conversation. "It seems all of the creatures are vanquished." He reported, standing to attention while he held his armoured horse by the reins.

"I, uh… I never got to thank you," Lissa spoke sheepishly, addressing Mask, "For saving me, I mean. So, thank you. You were really brave." The young healer said in a surprising moment of humility and grace.

"You saved my sister's life, so I too thank you," Chrom said, "I am Chrom. Might I ask your name?"

"You may call me… Marth." He said after a moment of hesitation.

"Well, thanks, Marth, you really helped us out there." Robin offered her hand out in thanks, but Marth seemed to glare at her from underneath his mask and pointedly ignored her olive branch.

"After the hero-king of old?" Chrom asked, "You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your skills?"

"I am not here to tell you about me," Marth cut his question off abruptly. "I am here to deliver a warning. This world teeters on the brink of calamity of the apocalyptic scale. What you saw here is but a prelude for what is to come." With his ominous message delivered, he walked past them and into the forest.

"Wait, what?" Lissa broke the silence. "What's going to happen to the world?! Hey, wait!" Frederick put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's long gone by now, milady. Besides, I believe we will hear his name again. But for now, we must hurry forth to the capital to ensure that it had been spared this destruction."

"Of course," Chrom nodded. "Come, we have to leave now if we're to make it there by daybreak."

"Wait, hold it right there." Robin put up a hand in a motion for the others to stop moving. "You mean after all this we have to ride for hours?" She asked angrily. She had gotten less sleep than the others had, and definitely didn't want to be riding for the next few hours.

"Robin, you agreed to come with us," Chrom said with a weary chuckle. "This is what you signed up for, so you're gonna have to deal with it."

"And why had nobody told me this yet?!" Robin felt like her brain was going to melt.

"You didn't ask." Chrom tried to keep a straight face but couldn't as he broke out into a grin. "Come on, we can't waste any more time." He said as they started moving again, going back to get their horses.

"Well, I certainly don't have to like it…" Robin muttered as she trailed behind them. This was not going to be a _fun_ morning.

* * *

Just as dawn truly started, the group of Shepherds crested a hill to look out upon the city below. It was a large, bustling city in which shops lined the main streets, which were crowded with pedestrians going about their daily lives, side streets eventually branching out into the slums of the city. Above the markets was the middle-class housing, with fewer people in the streets but was just as lively as the packed streets below. Above those were the aristocratic quarters, much more vivid and large than the middle-class homes with fewer people milling about. These were stationed relatively close to the large building near the center of the city; a large castle that was most likely the home of the Exalt.

Chrom had pushed them hard that night, and it had been a rough one for Robin. She ached all over from riding for hours on little sleep, and Virion's constant complaining about being stuffed back onto Sully's unruly horse didn't help much. She had also learned that the archer would sweet-talk anything that vaguely looked like a woman, so she had opted to mostly ignore him during the ride.

"It appears the capital was unaffected by the quake," Frederick noted, his voice showing slight relief. It was probably the most emotion he was going to show for a few hours. "It was most likely contained to the forest."

"Then all is well. Come on, we have to inform the Exalt of this." Chrom said in a fairly cheery tone despite the rest of the group's tired groans. Except for Frederick. Frederick looked like he could go another week of riding and still be fine. Actually, now that she thought about it, Frederick probably _had_ ridden for weeks on end without complaining at all.

The weary group slowly made their way down a dirt road that lead towards the closest entrance to the city - a large vaulted archway with thick wooden doors to match, both swung inwards so the door was open to its fullest capacity. Travelers in all sorts of dress marched in and out of the gates, the ones with wagons and carts being stopped for mandatory checks. The Shepherds had to dismount to get through the crowds, something both Robin and Virion were thankful for. Neither could take much more riding after the previous night.

They passed unhindered into the main street, where some sort of procession was passing through. Robin could just see a woman in regal robes walking within a circle of what appeared to be Royal Guards. A few pegasi circled above the parade, and she could just make out the glint of armour and spears.

"I've never seen this many people in one place!" Robin exclaimed as they made their way through the crowds.

"Yes, the sight is truly remarkable," Virion nodded to the procession. "There is Lady Emmeryn herself. She is known to occasionally walk the streets of Ylisstol as a sign that she is with her people."

"Is it safe for her to be walking about like this?" Robin frowned. It would be unwise of a ruler to walk among their people, even if they were universally well-liked.

"The Exalt is a symbol of peace," Frederick explained as they made their way towards the castle. "Ylisse's most prized quality. Long ago when the fell dragon tried to destroy our world, the first Exalt joined forced with the divine dragon Naga and defeat the beast. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us of the peace we fought for then."

"Yes," Chrom agreed as they exited the market and made their way through the middle-class housing district, "With Plegia provoking us at every turn, she needs to remind the people that she is there to protect them. She is a calming presence, when others might call for war. She is peace."

"Then Ylisse is lucky to have such an understanding ruler," Robin commented as Frederick charged Virion and Sully with taking the horses to their stables as they went back to the Shepherds' Garrison.

 _The stable's probably near their barracks, then._ Robin thought idly as Sully left, swearing as Virion did his best to flirt with her. They could still hear her loud profanity even after Virion's voice had been lost in the chatter of the crowd.

"Yeah!" Lissa chimed in. "And she's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!"

"Yes, I would expect she would…" Robin started before fading out.

 _Wait… did she just say big sister?!_

"Y… you mean the Exalt is your sister?" She asked cautiously, her full attention on Lissa.

"Yep!" The young healer agreed cheerily, oblivious to the implications in Robin's tone.

"Which means that you and Chrom…" Her voice faded out again, unable to complete her thought.

"Are the prince and princess of the realm?" The prince finished for her. "Yes, yes we are."

Robin, completely flabbergasted, dropped to one knee as she realized her completely rude mannerisms to them.

"I apologize, milord, milady. Had I known I would not have acted in such a way towards you." She apologized profusely as she lowered her head in respect, praying to whatever Gods would listen that they wouldn't take it for her rude demeanor.

"Peace, friend. I'm not much one for formalities anyways." Chrom reassured her before holding out a hand to help her up, while Lissa giggled away.

"But you said you were 'Shepherds'." Robin continued tentatively, very tense about them being royalty.

"We are," Chrom said with a smile. "We just have a lot of sheep, so to speak. And the Shepherds are an official militia, so we didn't lie." Chrom finished with a laugh.

"Okay…" Robin drew out the word to buy time to process that information.

"You mean to say that you remembered milord's name, but not his station?" Frederick asked suspiciously as they continued their way forwards,

"What can I say?" Robin shrugged as they reached the aristocratic quarters, "Amnesia is a strange thing. But this also explains why Frederick puts up with you two." She finished with a wink, slowly returning to her normal demeanor.

"Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm…" The knight muttered. All but the stoic knight laughed at this.

"It looks like Emm is returning to the palace," Chrom noted, "We'd best get there soon so we can inform her of these events." They unanimously agreed with him as they finished their trek to the castle.

* * *

The castle itself was a grand sight to see, with its arching walls and gloriously constructed windows it seemed much more open than it actually was, the brilliant masonry bringing the stone walls to life. The group approached a tall set of oaken doors, the varnish reflecting light from the nearby windows.

"The Great Hall," Lissa whispered to Robin, and she nodded in return as the doors were opened by the guards standing on either side. The Great Hall had a vaulted ceiling and lavish decorations that truly befit its name, at the end a large blue banner that spanned a good section of wall displayed the mark Chrom had on his shoulder; the the Exalted Brand. Nobles milled about in their finest, debating politics or simply conversing with each other. As soon as Chrom entered the room most of the chatter ceased as the nobles all turned and bowed or curtsied to their prince and princess, a few glancing curiously at Robin and making her self-conscious of her attire, which was dirty from travel.

They passed by the nobles as the groups returned to their chattering, Chrom leading them towards a door in the back. Through the door was corridor after corridor, the layout of the palace confusing Robin as she was lead towards their destination. Through one open door she could see huge bookshelves stuffed to bursting with all sorts of books, a woman wearing a pointed mage's hat sitting at a table pouring over the open books and scrolls in front of her. In a courtyard, a man in forest green cavalry armour was sparring with… she had to squint for a moment before seeing the knight in large cream armour.

They stopped outside of a door of a darker shade than any she had seen to that point. A man in ornate armour, likely a mediocre-to-high ranking military officer, nodded to the royals before looking at her warily as he opened the door.

The room itself was small but homely in a grand way. There were two couches, of undoubtedly the best materials, on either side of a wonderfully carved table, the surface reflecting light via clear lacquer. Atop it sat a fancy jug, most likely made of crystal, full of water, next to it a bottle of high-grade wine and several matching cups.

"Come and sit while we wait for Emm," Chrom waved dismissively towards the couches before sitting upon one himself. "It might be awhile."

Robin nodded before she approached the sofa. She hesitantly lowered herself onto the seat, careful to sit on the edge while Chrom and Lissa flopped unceremoniously onto the other. She could practically feel the dust on her coat working its way into the cushion. Frederick stayed at the door, ever the cautious watchman.

"I don't belong here…" Robin murmured as Chrom offered her a glass of water, nursing the undoubtedly expensive cup.

"Tell me about it," Chrom muttered back, and she could feel herself smile at this.

"You wouldn't believe how many times he's embarrassed himself at court," Lissa snickered before her brother elbowed her.

"Look at who's talking," Chrom jabbed at her, a grin on his face. Robin couldn't help but giggle a little at the siblings' display of affection. It really showed how much they cared about each other. "By the way, Robin, there's something I've been meaning to speak to you about." He said as he turned his attention to her.

"Yes?" Curiosity took hold as a thousand possible questions filled her now idle mind, sifting through the most likely options.

"I've been thinking that you haven't anywhere to go after this, right?"

"Ah, yes. I've not much to go on." Robin admitted, glancing down at her hand before looking at Chrom again.

"So how about you join the Shepherds?" He offered. "We could really use a tactician, and your other skills will not go unwelcomed." Robin started at his proposition. She had never entertained the thought of staying with them, and it felt like her heart was beating slightly faster at the idea.

"Chrom's more muscle than brain, so you'd be really helpful." Lissa giggled as Chrom tried at swat at her face.

"That would be wonderful," Robin admitted wistfully. "Though I'm sure there are others more qualified than I-"

"Stop," Chrom interrupted her. "You're plenty qualified. I've seen your tactical mind at work, and it's truly impressive. I want you to join the Shepherds."

"If you insist, I suppose I can't exactly ignore an order from Ylisse's prince," Robin laughed as a guard entered the room from the opposite side they had. She was wearing ornate Pegasus knight's armour, and her legs were bowed, most likely from decades of riding. Again, Robin felt a sense of déja vu, like how she had known Lissa was in a cleric's clothes.

"Prince Chrom, Princess Lissa, Frederick, it is nice to see you safe," The woman said in a rough voice - one that seemed to have the sternness of a drill sergeant but the wisdom of a sage. She was probably on the upper end of her forties, her silver hair pulled into a tight braided bun behind her head

"Wing-Commander Phila," Chrom greeted her. "How's Ylisstol been?"

"Not much different than when you left, sire." Phila shot a curious glance in Robin's direction. "But I see you have a new companion. Most new Shepherds do not come to meet Her Grace, so this one must be quite special to have earned the honour."

"Commander Phila, this is Robin, and as of a few moment ago she is the Shepherd's official tactician," He introduced them. " And it's not quite who she is but how we met her that warrants this visit. But it would be best to wait for my sister before that conversation."

"Of course," Phila nodded, before adding, "She should be here any moment now; she was just finishing her work." As if on cue, the door the Wing-Commander had come from opened, revealing a graceful woman. The moment she appeared it was as if the entire room lit up, her smile was so soft and kind and her eyes were just as wise. Her hair was the same colour as Lissa's, but fell in two large curls instead of pigtails. In the center of her forehead, her Brand was displayed proudly.

"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home. Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all?" The Exalt asked as she stepped forward to embrace her siblings, who were now standing.

"We've taken care of the bandits for now. They shouldn't be bothering us for quite a while." Chrom reported as he and Lissa accepted the embrace, and Robin felt more awkward than ever now that she was in the middle of their wonderful family reunion.

"Wonderful. And our people?" Emmeryn asked as she stepped back and surveyed the room, glancing curiously at Robin in the process. The Exalt chose not to mention it, though, and kept talking to her siblings.

"Safe as can be, Emm, but we have to watch our backs. The brigands came from Plegia." Chrom warned her.

"Forgive me, milady," Phila apologized as she bowed. "My Pegasus Knights should have intercepted them."

"Nonsense," Emmeryn said kindly. "Your duty is here with me."

"And besides, we had plenty of help!" Lissa chirped as she pointed to Robin, who became quite uncomfortable as she drew the gaze of everyone in the room.

"Yes, we have yet to be introduced." Emmeryn said with a smile.

"This is Robin," Chrom introduced for her. "She fought bravely with us against the brigands, and has been a boon on our travels so far. She is also the newest member of the Shepherds, joining us as our official tactician."

"I have heard much of your kindness, and it had been an honour meeting you," Robin said as stood and curtsied. " _Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur._ " She spoke the words without thinking, much as she had when she chided Virion back in the forest.

" _Even a God finds it hard to love and be wise at the same time,_ " Emmeryn translated, a slightly humbled note in her voice. "I see you have studied the ancient language well. It also sounds as though Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Robin."

"Not at all, milady," The tactician said, as humbly as she could.

"Forgive me Your Grace, but I must speak," Frederick requested from the doorway.

"And speak you may," Emmeryn granted.

"Robin claims to have lost her memory, but it is only that; a claim," Robin could almost hear the smugness in his voice as he tattled on her. "We cannot rule out the possibility that she is a brigand or even a Plegian spy." The Exalt narrowed her eyes at this.

"And yet you let this woman into the castle, Chrom?" She questioned her brother as Robin braced herself to be scrutinized.

"Yes," Chrom said confidently and she let out a silent breath she didn't know she was holding. "Robin had risked her life for our people, and that's more than good enough for me." Emmeryn looked at her for a moment before smiling again.

"If you have earned my brother's faith, you have earned mine as well." She said graciously.

"Milady," Robin thanked her with another curtsy.

"Thank you, Frederick, for your prudence," Emmeryn bowed slightly to the knight. "My siblings are blessed to have such a tireless guardian. I do hope they say so from time to time." She ended with a chuckle.

"They do occasionally show something akin to gratitude, Your Grace" Frederick said politely before he turned to the Wing-Commander. " Commander Phila, I assume you have heard of the deathly creatures we encountered."

"Yes, Frederick," Phila confirmed gravely. "They have been sighted all over Ylisse."

"We were about to hold council," Emmeryn informed Chrom. "It would do good for you to attend, as you have seen these creatures with your own eyes."

"Of course, sister." The prince agreed.

"Come on, Robin!" Lissa said suddenly as she grabbed Robin's sleeve. "That's our cue to get out of here." The princess said as she forcibly dragged the tactician out of the room. Once the door was shut, the healer loudly sighed in relief, "Good thing you were there. I _hate_ those things." Lissa admitted as she started walking.

"I feel so loved," Robin snorted sarcastically, following Lissa as not to be separated. She had no idea where she was in the castle and was not going to become lost.

"Come on, I do actually have something to show you." The princess grinned, looking over her shoulder for a moment before facing front again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Robin chuckled as her friend broke into a sprint.

"Not fast enough!" Lissa giggled back at her, and Robin took after. Things were going to be interesting for quite some time.

* * *

 **A/N So, how'd I do? Terrible, passable or good? Please let me know. And, y** **es, Robin and Emmeryn can speak Latin. Ylisse is based off of medieval Europe, so I was like 'Screw it, I'ma throw in some Latin'. If, for whatever reason, I don't put the translation of a phrase in the story, it should be down here, but that probably won't happen.**

 **Also, for those of you that don't know, Virion has a French accent. Yup. The womanizer has a French accent.**

 **Next time, tune in for Robin's introduction to the other Shepherds and _maybe_ some of Regna Ferox - I make no promises on that.**

 **Another reminder to please send in artwork! Hope you're getting tired of these, 'cause I sure am, and it's only chapter 2.**

 **Hope you've enjoyed, and please give some constructive criticism, I really could use it.**

 **-Storm 2016**


	3. Chapter 3

**Mandatory Disclaimer: Nintendo and all other connected companies own the rights to Fire Emblem. I don't own these characters or any of the official merchandise related to them; I just want to write about them.**

* * *

 **A/N I apologise that it took so long to get this out, but my schedule has been crazy and I had little to no time to myself. However, it's settled down now and I** _ **should**_ **have more opportunity to work on this. Make no mistake, I fully intend to finish this story, even though it may be just a little too early on to make such promises.**

 **Also, I realize that I have a habit of going back and making slight changes to the already published chapters, so sorry for any false alarms about this being updated. I'll try to kick the habit, but no promises.**

 **On another note, holy cow; I did not expect so many people to even look at this. I mean, within eight hours of the first chapter being posted, about ten people had already found it, and that was well over a month ago. I'm truly humbled that so many people are willing to look through a complete novice's work.**

 **Also, No Regna Ferox today :'(. I would have at least tried to get the Longfort into this one, but I don't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. Besides, it would be easier to tie the next two levels in the game into a single chapter than the Northroad and Longfort.**

 **Sorry again for the delay, but I present the next chapter of** _ **Changing Fate**_ **!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **-Storm 2016**

* * *

"Where are we going?" Robin asked breathlessly as Lissa dragged her through the streets of Ylisstol, still very much sore and tired from having traveled by horseback all through the morning.

 _How does she have so much energy?!_

"You'll see!" The healer giggled lightheartedly as she pulled Robin around a corner, revealing military barracks. There was a tall building to one side; most likely the pegasus roosts from the few animals circling around the top. Closer to the ground, the other building were normal military staples; garrisons, mess halls, training grounds and stables. Lissa forcibly led the tactician to one of the nearer buildings, which also stood next to stables from which Robin could see Sully brushing her horse.

 _The Shepherd's barracks._

Entering the main building, Robin could see a homely common area with a few corridors leading off to other areas - she could smell wonderful cooking wafting from one, and a few voices through another. In the commons a few people, presumably Shepherds, sat around a low-lying table on various pieces of mismatched furniture. Robin could see Virion's blue hair over the back of a cozy looking armchair, a man with spiky blonde hair and no shirt that was on a plain wooden chair and two women were chatting in the background atop a couch that was conveniently placed as far away from the frilly archer as possible.

"Welcome to the Shepherds' Garrison!" Lissa chirped as she turned and spread her arms out, displaying the room behind her. "Make yourself at home while your pack is set up, and feel free to choose a room in the women's wing to bunk in."

"Lissa, darling!" One of the women in the back, the one with blonde sausage curls and pink rider's garb, shot up and nearly tackled Lissa in a dainty hug. As the new woman leaned back to inspect the princess, she asked in a noble accent, "Are you alright, my dear? I've been on pins and needles!"

"Oh, hey, Maribelle!" Lissa said cheerfully as she extracted herself from Maribelle's arms.

"'Oh, hey' yourself!" Maribelle said haughtily. "I've sprouted fourteen gray hairs fretting over you!"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," The princess said in an almost tired voice, gently holding her friend's hands in both of hers. "I can handle a little camping, but I could deal without the bugs and bear barbecue…" She finished with a mutter, making Robin chuckle as her semi-graceful demeanor fell in an instant.

"Hey, squirt!" The shirtless man had approached them from behind Maribelle. "Where's Chrom? I bet he had a hard time without ol' Teach and his trusty axe!" Lissa giggled at this.

"So you're 'Teach,' now, Vaike? Here I thought people were born lacking wits. It can be taught?" Robin could hear Virion chuckling from his chair, and Maribelle cracked a tiny smile.

"Never doubt the Vaike!" The man proclaimed, thumping his chest with a fist. "...Wait, was that an insult?"

From behind Vaike, the other girl tentatively approached the group. She very nearly screamed self-doubt and inexperience, but she _was_ with the Shepherds, so she must have had some skill.

"Beg pardon," She interjected meekly, "But when might we see the captain?"

"Poor Sumia," Maribelle sighed, "She was scanning the horizon all during training. She might have earned fewer bruises fighting blindfolded."

"Awe, it's so sweet of you to worry about Chrom…" That statement coming from nearly anyone else might have been sweet or adorable, but Lissa said it with false innocence and a gleam in her eye.

"Well, I…" Sumia faltered under the princess's gaze. "Of course I'd be worried! He's our captain and our prince." She said as she quickly righted herself, clearly doing her best not to fall apart in front of the healer.

 _What's Lissa done to warrant that reaction? Just what_ have _I gotten myself into?_

"So," Vaike said, breaking Robin's train of thought and bringing the attention off of Sumia, which she was probably grateful for. "Who's the stranger?" The man was staring directly at Robin.

"No one's stranger than you, Vaike," Lissa giggled, "But let me introduce Robin, our newest Shepherd!"

"She is quite impressive," Virion chimed in from his chair. "She is a brilliant tactician; it is unsurprising that she had been invited to join our elite group, and it is not often at all that I speak so highly of one's skills. Besides my own, of course. She is quite the beauty, as well." He had leaned over as to look around the side of his chair and finished his statement with a wink.

" _Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur_ ," Robin reminded the talkative archer with a wave, using the exact phrase she had told him off with the night before. Virion looked slightly offended while Lissa was laughing openly at Vaike' dumbfounded expression, and Maribelle seemed slightly impressed with Robin's knowledge of the old language.

"See?" Lissa said with an offhand gesture, as if the simple phrase proved Robin's intelligence. "She's officially our new tactician, and you should see all the tricks she's got up her sleeve!" The princess finished excitedly, waving her hands around in wild over exaggerated motions.

"Can you do this?" Vaike finished with a very loud belch, earning a glare from Maribelle as she wrinkled her nose, and Virion could be heard muttering under his breath as he turned away from them. Robin laughed the absurdity of it off before replying.

"I'm sure I have much to learn in the belching arts, 'Teach.' In any case, it's a pleasure to meet you all." She greeted them politely.

"Ugh, Vaike, that was abhorrent! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery?!" Maribelle snapped before rounding on Robin. "And you! Don't encourage him. I'd hoped you'd been cut from a finer cloth." With that statement, she upturned her nose and stomped towards one of the corridors in a ladylike fashion, probably the kitchen from the smell of it. Lissa sighed as she watched her friend go.

 _I don't think I like her._

"Don't worry about Maribelle," Sumia assured Robin in a kindly manner, as though the knight had read her mind. "She warms to people slowly."

"Or too quickly!" Lissa joked before sobering slightly. "But yeah, just give her time. She'll come around."

"But, when _is_ the Captain coming?" Sumia questioned as they sat down. Virion had apparently been drinking tea, which he then offered to Robin. As she turned him down, Lissa explained. "In a council or something. I'm just glad Robin was with us so I had an excuse to get out."

"I feel so loved," Robin retorted as she placed an exaggerated hand over her heart.

"How'd you pick her up, anyways?" Vaike asked from the chair he was sprawled over. It was backwards, so he was straddling it with his head resting on the top. Robin then proceeded to tell them the occurrences of the previous day, with Lissa adding a few comments here and there. Even Virion hadn't heard the entire story, so he sat quietly listening to someone else talk for a change. When Sully walked in she made them restart, much to Vaike's annoyance.

"Let me get this straight," The tomboy cavalier was leaning on the back of the couch Robin and Sumia were perched atop, her lance against the wall behind her. "You have amnesia, but you're also a genius tactician with both magical and physical prowess?"

"That about sums it up," Robin nodded.

"That's confusing," Vaike said bluntly, rubbing his neck with a hand.

"It sounds like something straight from a fantasy story!" Sumia exclaimed excitedly.

"You think so?" Robin said with doubt. If this was a story, it was much more horror than fairytale.

"Whatever. What matters is that we have a kick-ass tactician now!" Vaike exclaimed, pumping a fist as he did so.

"I find it really interesting," Said a voice near the door. Everyone whipped around, trying to locate the source. After squinting a little, Robin could see the form of a rather plain man in the doorway, his large cream and orange armour taking up a good deal of space in front of them.

"Sweet Naga, Kellam. You really need to work on getting noticed," Sully said exhaustedly after her mandatory string of swear words.

"I've been standing here since before you came in," The knight, Kellam apparently, said slightly indignantly. "But I didn't want to interrupt."

"Fine," Sully sighed before turning to Robin. "Meet Kellam, our freakily unnoticeable knight."

"I'm Robin, the Shepherd's new tactician," She extended a hand out to the knight, and he took it.

"Kellam, nice to meet you," Kellam smiled slightly. "Just a warning, but I tend to be forgotten a lot. Sorry in advance if I surprise you.

"It seems everyone's taken to you well," A voice said from behind the knight.

"Captain!" Sumia shot up to meet Chrom as he stepped around Kellam, only to end up face-planting onto the floor with a thud.

"Sumia, are you okay?" The prince asked worriedly. "Those boots of yours again?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean…" She finished with a sigh after she stood up, apparently unable to complete her thought.

"Well, in any case," Chrom continued, "Here's the rundown of the council: Everybody argued for hours, but the only thing of worth decided upon was to call this new menace Risen, and an emergency mission we'll be executing fairly soon."

"That… is really sad," Robin commented blatantly.

"I have to agree with you," Chrom said. "But that's what happened, and is exactly why I hate politics. However, now that's out of the way I have something for you," Chrom turned to Robin, who tilted her head slightly as she felt her heart speed up. "I've made a request for a sword of your own, but until then you're welcome to use my rapier. I don't really need it, anyways." He finished with a chuckle.

"Thank you," Robin nodded, her heart slowing down.

"How about you show off your skills?" Vaike prodded at her. "Teach wants to know if you're worthy of being his pupil."

"Fine," She agreed after she saw Sumia's puppydog eyes. Drawing the rapier from its scabbard, she inspected it. It was quite a step up from most of the weaponry she had seen to that point, with the exception of Chrom's mythical broadsword Falchion. It was slightly thicker and longer than the average rapier, not that Robin knew how she could have known that. With a quick flourish to test the slightly familiar weight in her hand, then she flew through a set of shadow fencing exercises already built into her muscle memory. Vaike looked impressed, Sully nodded in approval, and Sumia looked on in awe.

"Alright, people," Chrom snapped his fingers to get their attention as Robin sheathed the sword. "Now that Robin's done showing off," He received a few chuckles at that. "The mission I mentioned earlier is that we have to march off to Regna Ferox in a few weeks time to ask for military assistance."

"Regna Ferox?" Robin asked, unsurprised that she was the only one in the room who apparently didn't know about it

"A unified nation to the North," Sumia seemed to have had taken to explaining things such as this to her, the probable Pegasus Knight apparently taking Robin's amnesia in stride. "It's said to be inhabited by barbarians and the like."

"They're fierce warriors, and we could use their strength to quell this new menace," Chrom said before continuing. "Typically the Exalt would handle such affairs, but she feared that leaving the country, or even the capital, at this time could cause panic, and so the task falls to us. Now, this is a volunteer mission, so should anyone not want to come-"

"I volunteer!" Lissa raised her hand so fast she almost fell from her seat, squeaking as she did so and effectively interrupting her brother.

"Me, too!" Vaike said as he stood up and rolled his shoulders. "You'll be needing ol' Teach for such a delicate mission, an' I can't leave you guys or I'll miss something fun!"

"I'll go as well," Kellam voiced from… somewhere.

"I… I, um…" Sumia stammered as she held one arm behind her back; the very image of shy.

"Yes, Sumia?" Chrom plowed forward, either unaware of Sumia's timidness or choosing to ignore it.

"It's just that… I don't think I'm ready for an actual mission yet. I'd probably just get in the way." She explained apologetically.

 _How'd this girl even get into the Shepherds? Or is she a trainee of sorts?_

"You could always stay behind the main party, and if we meet battle you could hang back and watch," Chrom tried to compromise. "Your choice, of course, but some lessons can only be taught on the battlefield."

"If you think it wise, Captain," Sumia said dutifully.

"Just stay cautious and you'll be fine," The prince assured her with a small smile.

"Yessir!" She chirped in response, in a much more chipper tone.

"Now that all this is out of the way," Robin clapped her hands a couple times to draw everyone's attention as she glanced outside at the fading sky, "Can someone please tell me where I can put my stuff and when dinner is? I haven't eaten all day." A few of the Shepherds chuckled at this, before Sumia stood and waved her over as the knight started walking.

"The women's wing is over this way," She motioned, pointing towards one of the branching corridors "And you're welcome to share with me. There aren't too many women in the Shepherds, so there's more than enough space. You should have enough time to arrange all your stuff before dinner."

"And dinner should be ready soon," Lissa chimed, standing up and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I can already smell Stahl's cooking…" Everyone burst out laughing as the princess started to drool, before quickly wiping her face with her sleeve and looking away, her face a light shade of pink.

* * *

 _The night was dark, the moonlight non-existent due to the new moon. The overbearingly scent of decay shrouding Robin, nearly suffocating her, as it mixed with the smell of both fresh and stagnant blood, sickening to stomach as the sounds of battle filled Robin's ears, and her sixth sense picked up a strong, pulsing evil in the air she had long ago associated with Grima. Risen moaning, steel clashing against steel, the rapid shuffling of feet, cries of pain as bone crunched beneath metal. Was there… some feral animal growling in the distance, or simply her mind creating phantoms in the disgusting chaos of battle?_

 _And hadn't they just been in the Shepherd's Garrison? No… They had just fought their way to the base of Grima's Sanctum, ready to end the war Validar had set upon them. Panic like never before set in as Robin ducked and weaved around jagged claws and wicked axes, sand being kicked up around her, nearly having one decapitate her as it swung around wildly._

 _Wait, was that Chrom? And the other Shepherds? Yes; she could see a few of them through the clashing bodies, all desperately fighting a losing battle. They were in pairs or groups of three, all separated by the horde of undead creatures. But there were just too many Risen. Suddenly, the monsters pulled back, retreating behind a single of the hive-mind leaders and leaving the Shepherds breathless and wounded._

 _This one was much larger than its peons, an evil grin showing its decaying teeth from behind a cord frayed to breaking in several places, which may have once been used to sew its mouth shut. It's mask was just as menacing as its weapon, the eye slits showing its gleaming eyes, while the cracked mask itself only covered about half of the Risen's face, showing peeling dead skin below. It let out an inhuman roar, more like a shriek or scream than anything, and something answered from behind Robin; a beastly howl that drove icy fear into her heart._

 _One by one, huge black wolves meandered out of the dunes, in no rush to answer the Risen's call, all with the same glowing red eyes not unlike those of the ones calling them. Rough claws tore in anticipation at the tile beneath them while slobber dripped from gaping maws rowed with bright, white sharp teeth as more and more of them appeared from the depths of the badlands._

Wait! It's not supposed go like this! ...We… the rest of the Shepherds are supposed to hold the Risen and Grimleal at bay while Chrom and I...

 _A feral hound the size of a horse stepped forward, and at it's howl all of the other beasts charged. Robin readied her blade; if she was going out she was taking as many of the creatures with her as she could. But they all galloped past towards the line of Risen rushing to meet them._

 _The smaller ones reached the Shepherds first, and Robin lost sight of them all as the horde of monsters overtook them. In one smooth motion, the Risen Chieftain mounted the largest of the wolves as some of its underlings did suit with the smaller ones. It looked - looked directly at Robin, its mouth pulled back into a ghastly grin as it charged forward on the wolf, overtaking her in seconds as the huge creature stood upon her chest, knocking the wind out of her and wildfire spread through her torso as it broke bone. Nausea set in, and the world was still for an eternity before the beast bared it's dripping fangs and bit down upon her throat and pain flourished._

 _She couldn't breathe. She_ couldn't breathe _!_

* * *

"Bwargh!" Robin sat bolt upright in her bed as the pressure on her sinuses faded, involuntarily spouting her thoughts. "Risen! Wolves! Risen riding wolves! They're... all... wait… Lissa!?" The princess was on the floor, already dressed for the day's march, rolling around in pure glee and laughing so loudly she might have woken the entire city.

"'Bwargh'? Oh gods, that was _hilarious_!" The healer managed to get out as her manic laughing subsided.

"Lissa, Gods bless it, I was fast asleep!" Robin muttered irritably as she threw her blanket back over her head, struggling to capture the fading wisps of her dream. Something had been off about it, as though it had been at least partially real and not completely a figment of her imagination.

"Oh no you don't!" Lissa cried playfully as she tore the covers from Robin, the cooler air rushing in to fill the warm bubble that had surrounded her.

"Why not?" She complained as she curled into a ball, trying to preserve the last scraps of escaping heat.

"Because we're marching today, and you volunteered to go on this mission." Lissa said smugly as Robin firmly grasped the blanket in her hands.

"I'll move if someone orders me to!" She declared as she pulled the blanket away from Lissa, securely wrapping it around herself.

"As princess of the Realm, I, Lissa, the youngest member of the royal family of the Exalt, command you to get up," The princess said in an overly formal voice, then cracked a smile to let Robin know it was a joke.

"Oh princess of the Realm, have pity on the poor souls of those who are tired!" Robin begged in a piteous voice, tagging along with Lissa.

"Alas, it cannot be. Those who choose to be slugabeds will be left behind," Lissa said before she dropped her mockingly noble tone. "Seriously, we'll actually leave without you."

"Fine!" Robin caved as she sat up. "I'm getting up. But you'd better not leave me here."

"No promises," Lissa snickered with a wink.

 _Every morning we have a mission had better not be like this..._

* * *

The morning of marching was relatively uneventful after Robin's jolting awakening, and soon they set out for Regna Ferox. During her time in Ylisse, Robin had acquired a few of her own supplies in addition to her military equipment; mainly fingerless gloves of her own, a few other garments and emergency rations. After they got back from their objective North of Ylisse, her own sword would be finished and she could get to work adjusting to the new weapon. They had been traveling for a few hours before anything interesting had happened. Robin, as the Shepherds' tactician, had been provided with a horse and was stationed at the front of the lineup with the royals. Frederick was not with them as he and Sully were scouting ahead, currently the only two Shepherds trained to fight on horseback. As they made idle chatter, she observed the countryside around them. They had been traveling along the Northroad, and everything had been idyllically peaceful; perhaps too much so considering the Risen that had been popping up recently.

Out of nowhere, a cavalier in green armour galloped toward a them from behind, slowing to a light canter a little ways to the side. Robin had been reaching for her tome before she stopped to think. Had this knight been a threat, the other Shepherds would have attacked by now, and Chrom had an amused smile on his face when he had seen the rider. The man also seemed familiar...

"H-hey, Chrom!" The knight in green called out.

"Stahl?" Lissa voiced in confusion.

"Why am I the last one to hear about the expedition to Regna Ferox?" Stahl asked no one in particular.

"Huh? Wasn't Vaike supposed to…" Lissa trailed off before twisting around in her saddle to face behind her. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell Stahl about the mission?" The healer yelled at the man, who was marching further away.

"The Vaike never forgets!" The axeman shouted back. "...I just don't always remember…" A few other Shepherds laughed under their breath at the axeman's incompetence, Robin included.

"Ugh… I swear you'd forget your own name if you weren't constantly saying it," Lissa jabbed at him. "Speaking of which, are you _sure_ you have your axe this time?"

"Hey!" Vaike said indignantly. "That was one time! ...okay, twice, but training sessions don't count! Anyway, I got it right here." He patted the smooth side of his axe, causing it to ring out slightly. "Teach is loaded and ready for action! Glad to have you along, Stahl ol' buddy." Vaike said cheerily.

"That makes one of us…" Stahl groaned. "I was in such a hurry, I had to skip breakfast. There were muffins and cakes and… Well, I can tell you as we march…"

 _He was the one sparring with Kellam yesterday._

"Hi there," Robin greeted him as she pulled her horse alongside Stahl's before he could leave. "Stahl, right?" The cavalier nodded, slightly confused at the new face.

"Ah, right," Chrom said, a dawning look on his own. "Stahl, this is Robin, our new tactician. Robin, this is Stahl, one of our finest."

"Hello, Robin. Miriel told me we had a new Shepherd," Stahl said before realizing his mistake. "Er, Miriel's one of our mages. She should be catching up soon." He explained. Robin nodded her appreciation, and Stahl dropped back next to Vaike so that he could complain in a good-natured way. Robin decided to let him be for a moment so that his horse could recover from galloping so far, as they had been marching for hours at that point.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before she could hear Chrom murmur something.

"Where's the patrol? We should have met them by now…"

" _Nos sperare optime semper præpara pessimi_ ," She said to him sagely. " _Let us hope for the best, but prepare for the worst_."

"Yes," He nodded. "Let us hope…"

All seemed still and quiet, time slowing down as tension mounted. Before long, their two scouts came back, ushering unwanted news.

"Risen have covered the bridge area," Frederick reported. "There are at least three dozen."

"What weapons do they wield, and where are they positioned?" Robin asked as they picked up their pace and her mind switched unbidden to tactics.

"They're foot soldiers with a mix of axes, swords and lances," Sully said. "And they're spread out pretty evenly on both banks."

"What about the terrain?"

"Mostly flat on this side with a small copse of trees out wide in either direction," Frederick answered this time. "The far side has more trees closer to the bridge, with hills behind those."

Robin nodded, formulating a plan of attack before even setting eyes on the battlefield.

Sully was about to say something, but hesitated. It seemed unlike her to falter at anything, so Robin questioned her.

"What else, Sully?"

"... You should see it yourself." The cavalier answered gruffly, turning away and moving a few paces ahead. It was then that they spotted the Risen. It was as the mounted knights had described, the monsters shuffling around slowly in their aimless manner. What they hadn't mentioned, and what Sully had refused to say, was that the bodies of soldiers littered the ground, staining it dark red.

 _We must have just missed them…_

The realization shook her to the core. They could have saved these innocents had they set out an hour earlier, or had chosen a faster pace. If only…

 _No. No 'if only's or 'what if's. You don't know what would have happened. You don't know if you could have saved them. What's done is done._

"Oh Gods…" Lissa gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as her skin paled and eyes widened in shock.

"Deep breaths, Lissa," Robin stifly commanded the princess, suppressing her own emotions of torment. "I need you to be mobile, and you can't do that safely if you're grieving for them right now. We can give them the best we can after we avenge them."

"Yeah…" Lissa sniffled and took a couple deep breathes as her brother looked on silently, his face a mask of rage.

"Okay, Shepherds!" Robin called out. "Gather round; we're going to wipe these things off the face of the Earth."

Robin had sent Sully and Frederick off to the left to deal with the Risen on that side. Stahl and Virion went right, and the rest of them stayed in the center. Sumia was stationed by Lissa as her guard in case any of the Risen slipped past to attack the healer. It almost felt like she was missing something, but she just shrugged it off. So long as nothing went terribly wrong, it didn't matter.

"Go!" Robin signaled to the two wing teams, and they charged forward. If everything went as planned, the Risen would funnel towards the center where she, Chrom and Vaike would finish them.

As soon as the Risen fell for the obvious but effective trap, Chrom charged forward as a target. He was a madman with a sword, killing anything that shambled towards him, Robin just behind providing magical assistance while using Chrom's rapier in a deadly dance.

"Mua ha ha! They'll remember ME once I drive my axe up their..." Vaike suddenly faltered as he stopped to look around. "... Wait… My axe. Where's my axe?! I had it a second ago!"

"Vaike!" Chrom growled, pausing for a moment as Robin covered him. "This is no time for jokes…"

"I'm serious! It's gone, but I JUST had it! It's got to be around here somewhere…" He continued to search the nearby ground more vigorously, clearly desperate to find his misplaced weapon.

"Fine!" Robin remarked, "Just fall back, and if you do find it come back up to the front lines." This was a battle; they couldn't deal with Vaike's idiocy now.

"Splendid. It seems I have caught up. Now to extirpate these brutes." An out of breath feminine voice called from the direction they had come as Robin decapitated a Risen, stepping around the cloud of smoke produced by it. With a glance, she could see a woman in mage's dress standing behind them, a tome in hand as she breathed heavily. Out of the corner of her eye, Robin could also see Sumia wielding a lance as she skewered a Risen before slashing at a second when the remains of the first had dissolved.

"Who're you?" She asked the woman, foregoing all formalities due to the battle on hand.

"Ah, it seems as though you are our new tactician," The mage observed, ignoring Robin's question.

"Who are you?" Robin asked pointedly, her nerves already on edge. She didn't need anything annoying happening while in the midst of battle.

"I am a practitioner of the arcane arts, Miriel," Miriel answered neutrally. "And… is that an axe?" Her sentence tapered off as she stooped to grab at a handle stick in out

"Miriel!" Vaike called excitedly as he accepted the weapon from the mage. "Thanks. For the axe, anyway."

"I suspected that you would be the culprit," Miriel stated as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with a finger. "Perhaps next time this occurs, I shall affix this to your hand with a spell… permanently."

"Yoo-hoo, we're in a battle, remember?" Robin called out as she caught a moment of reprieve. "Miriel, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Robin. Now Vaike, get up here and play decoy with Chrom. Miriel, you're supporting them with me." Both obeyed the command, but Miriel took a moment to ask something.

"I have heard that your tactical prowess is highly proficient, yet you suffer from retrograde amnesia." The mage stated as she started flinging fireballs past the boys.

"You heard right, I think," Robin retorted as she cast an Elthunder spell into a particularly thick clump of Risen, half disintegrating a few of them. "But that's for later. Again, we're in a battle."

"Of course," The mage agreed. Right then, Vaike finished off the last of the Risen on their side of the bank.

"Cavaliers! Once everyone catches their breath, charge the bridge with ranged support. Once at the end, infantry will switch places with them so they can continue to barrage the Risen. The infantry will hold the bridge as a choke point. Cavaliers, feel free to use your mobility to your advantage; just don't get tied down in case the infantry need assistance. Sumia, if you're ready you can join in. If not, continue to protect Lissa." Robin said all of this rapid-fire, waiting only until all of the Shepherds had assembled before starting. "Questions?" Lissa raised a hand.

"Who put you in charge?" The princess snickered.

"Your brother," Robin deadpanned. Any other time, she might have sniped back at the healer, but now her mind was focused solely on her job; only when everyone was safe would she return to joking around. "Nothing else? Good. Then get to it!" The Shepherds lined up, Frederick, Sully and Stahl at the front, Virion, Miriel and Robin backing them up, while Chrom and Vaike as the infantry; Robin would join them during the switch. Sumia had chosen to act as the rearguard for Lissa, who would be just behind the ranged attackers.

The mounted knights charged the bridge, wiping out any of the undead creatures that had been foolish enough to lumber into their path. The ranged attackers, including Robin, started lobbing spells and arrows at the monsters that were trying to crowd the cavaliers, felling the ones that were attempting to crowd the horsemen. Once they reached the end of the bridge, Virion and Miriel switched places with Chrom and Vaike while Robin pulled out the prince's rapier. From what she could tell, the monsters were without one of the larger hive-mind Risen that had been proven so dangerous back in the forest, which made clearing them out all the easier. Perhaps it had fallen when they had attacked the guards.

Sully and Stahl charged around flanking Frederick in a triangle formation, decimating everything in their way. Vaike haphazardly jumped about, swinging his axe with a wild look in his eyes as Chrom and Robin fought alongside him, and the occasional arrow or spell shot past killing or disabling Risen as the evil creatures moaned and groaned, hissing as they took hit after hit.

The monsters stood no chance against the furious Shepherds, falling one after another in the face of their wrath. But there was no joy, no victory rush as the last one fell. They had caused too much damage - too many innocent lives had been taken and destroyed.

As remorseless as Robin had been killing the brigands in Southtown, she despised the idea of innocents dying for no reason at all. It was a waste of precious human life, and each one of the lost men had families that would never see them again.

The Shepherds all stood for a moment, catching their breath before sporadically dispersed into the surrounding area in hope of finding at least one survivor, the knights with mounts tying them to the bridge by the reins. Only Robin remained still, silently compartmentalizing all of the horror with her eyes closed.

The bodies of the bandits in Southtown had been one thing, but the fallen soldiers were on a completely different level of body horror. The bandits had suffered normal wounds from the fight before falling, but the decimated patrol had been torn limb from limb, staining the dirt and grass dark red that would last until the next heavy rain.

Before she could dwell on that thought for too long, Robin shook herself out of it. Emotions were not logical and therefore temporarily unnecessary; each emotion followed its own set of constantly fluctuating rules that could change in a split second. They could not be calculated, measured nor controlled, which made them wild cards. Best case scenario, they could motivate people do to the impossible. Worse case, they absolutely crippled those they afflicted, draining all willpower and motivation. Currently it was best to play it safe and suppress her feelings of hate and fear before they took control and ran amuck.

In the end this massacre had caused at least one good thing, even if the casualties weren't truly worth it at all, and even that was only a small consolation. It had proven Robin hypothesis about the lead Risen to be relatively accurate. The Risen were much weaker without their 'leader', which made them much easier to deal with in the future.

Robin lost herself in her strategies, and taking out a thick empty notebook she had been provided with, she started writing down all of her ideas in the same neat handwriting that filled her tome; diagrams, descriptions, everything pertainable to any conceivable situation. She felt as though she would normally have waited until there was a break to write it all down, but it served as an effective distraction from the recent massacre.

After some time of scouring the land in a half mile radius, the Shepherds congregated around Robin at the North end of the bridge, disrupting her thoughts, and surveyed the battleground around them. Chrom stood stiffly, kneading Falchion's pommel, Lissa attached to his other arm.

As some had been searching, the rest had dedicated that time to gathering all of the bodies and organizing a funeral pyre off to the side; it was the best they could do on such short notice. At a signal from Chrom, both Robin and Miriel lit the tinder scattered around the pyre with spells. The magically fueled fire would, aside from giving the fallen men respect, keep scavengers away from the bodies, and would burn much longer and brighter than any normal flame.

The present Shepherds gave respect to the fallen men, albeit each in their own way, and dispersed back into the woods in search of any survivors. The royal siblings did not, however, instead staring rigidly at the orange flames licking the ground.

Robin approached Chrom from the side, placing a comforting hand on the shoulder Lissa was not clinging to, absently noting his newly repaired pauldron. She opened her mouth, prepared to comfort them, when Frederick approached, interrupting her with a glare. As she backed away, the overbearing knight spoke.

"Milord, milady," He completely ignored Robin. "We have found something of interest." He reported, waving them towards the way he had come. After walking for a few minutes, they could hear what sounded like a frightened animal trampling about, or at least trying to.

After rounding a thick clump pof trees, the small group stopped in front of a maddened beast, vainly trying to escape its bonds. A disheveled horse pawed furiously at the ground, tearing up grass as it kicked. At least, Robin thought it was a horse, until it revealed two large wings, which at it flapped furiously at Sully and Stahl, who were holding it down with ropes tied to its reins. It's eyes were wide with fear, and it was covered in small nicks and scratches, a larger red patch slowly seeping from a hind leg.

"Is that… a pegasus?" Robin questioned cautiously as the equine creature brayed fearfully, madly tossing its head in hopes of escape.

"Indeed," Frederick answered, slightly catching her off-guard. "Though this one is wild with fright and pain." Chrom took a step towards the beast, talking soothingly with an arm held out.

"Shh… whoa, girl. You'll be f-IIINE!" He backed up quickly, the pegasus having reared upon its hind legs and flapping it's wings erratically, foam flicking onto its sooted pelt while it screeched loudly. This very nearly threw the two knights holding it to the ground, but their footing held strong against the thrashing.

"Here, Captain. Let me try," A voice calls out from behind them. They turned, revealing Sumia tentatively approaching them.

"Be careful," Chrom warned her as she stepped forward. Too late, she tripped, landing hard on the ground.

"Ow… that one's gonna bruise…" The clumsy knight muttered before standing up, dusting herself off once she had.

"I think he meant the pegasus, but I suppose that works too," Robin joked dryly, not expecting a response.

"I was going to say the beast was out of control," The prince answered in the same tone with a slight grin before turning serious again. "But please, do be careful."

"I've got this," Sumia smiled back confidently, surprising Robin. She moved much slower than Chrom had, reaching out towards the crazed animal with a gentle hand. The effect was immediate and astonishing, the Pegasus calming in nearly an instant, all tension on the ropes going slack as it settled, allowing Sumia to stroke its neck soothingly.

"Whoa…" Lissa spoke for the first time, not letting go of her brother. "Sumia, how did you do that? It's incredible!" The knight just shrugged, continuing to brush at the equine's pelt.

"I'm just good with animals, I suppose," She said simply before continuing. "You should all go on ahead while I dress her wounds, it could take some time."

"We can wait for you," Chrom offered.

"Thank you, but there's no time. The future of Ylisse could be hanging in the balance." Sumia said, shaking her head.

"I'll stay with you," Lissa offered, finally letting go of her brother. "She'll heal much faster with my magic."

"Absolutely not," Frederick cut her down. "What would happen if you were set upon by more Risen? It is far too dangerous."

"As loath as I am to admit, Frederick's right," Robin said, surprising both the knight and his charge. "We can't have the princess of the Realm put into unknown danger."

"But Robin…" Lissa started to whine before the tactician also cut her off.

"However," She continued with a slight grin, "Should someone go with to act as your guard, it should be safe enough for you to stay, especially since Sumia is here and there is a village nearby. There is also a low chance of more Risen wandering around here for awhile longer. And, no, Frederick, you can't be her guard. Chrom needs you with us." Lissa regained her playful grin as Frederick's mouth grew to a grimace, which only made the princess's smile wider. Since the knight kept his opinions to himself, which Robin took as a sign of approval.

"Sully!" The tactician called out, signaling the cavalier over from where she was untying the ropes from the pegasus's reins.

"Yeah?" Was the response the redheaded knight gave as she walked over, her endeavors of untangling the knots temporarily set back.

"Do you mind staying here with Sumia and Lissa? Lissa wants to help heal the pegasus, but it would be unwise to let her go without a guard." Sully cracked smirk at the opportunity.

"Sure, I'll keep her safer than if she was in Ylisstol. Is anyone else staying too?"

"No, we can't afford to keep anyone else back."

"It's not like Vaike is doing anything important, or Virion, for that matter," Frederick pressed forward, apparently intent on having Lissa be as safe as possible even with Sully's assurance.

"No, we can't afford to. As a high-ranking officer, you should know that pegasi tend to feel more at ease among women," Robin retorted, and the tugging sensation that came when she said some inkling of knowledge pulled harshly at the back of her mind, jarring at her thoughts and nearly overturning her train of thought completely. "This one will need to be as comfortable as possible if she's to recover quickly. The faster the pegasus heals, the faster we get Lissa back." She hurriedly collected her scattered mind, acutely aware of those with their eyes on her. "Also, you should know better than to suggest Ruffles go anywhere with the princess nearly unsupervised." Robin added afterwards, earning a snicker from Sully and Lissa.

"Fine," The knight finally admitted after having a stare-down with the tactician, turning around and storming off to retrieve the horses. By now Sumia had managed to coaxed the equine in question to both lay on the ground and choke down a few foul-tasting vulneraries, evident by the empty palm-sized bottles strewn next to the pegasus. The healing potions would quickly set to work mending the multitude of shallow cuts it had sustained, but would do little for the gaping wound on it's flank, which Sumia was kneeling over with a strip of cloth damped with a simple antiseptic, presumably to clean it out. The rest of the Shepherds had returned from their futile searches and milled around the clearing, undoubtedly drawn towards them by Robin and Frederick's loud argument. Sully stood over Lissa and Sumia, who were tending to the pegasus.

"Come on, we should tell everybody what's going on," Robin said tiredly to Chrom as she held a hand to her face in exasperation, who half snorted.

"I know the feeling," He said with a chuckle, which made her smile slightly. "It's nearly impossible to do anything even slightly dangerous with Frederick around, and I use the term 'dangerous' loosely."

It was at that moment that the answer to her earlier unease hit her; quite literally. After a few steps, she walked face-first into the forgotten wall of armour known as Kellam, giving out a yelp as she did so

"Ow..." She groaned after she hit the ground butt first, sitting up and rubbing her forehead where it had hit the knight. There wasn't any severe pain, and no snapping sound so it was safe to assume that nothing was broken.

"S-sorry..." Kellam stammered, obviously flustered from the incident.

"You're fine," Robin said as she stood. "I'm to blame. I shouldn't have forgotten about you. However, I would like to know why you didn't speak up when I didn't include you in the plans."

"I figured you'd get along fine without me if you hadn't included me, so I set to work carrying all our dropped packs over here." He explained nonchalantly. If she had been drinking anything, Robin would have spit it out. They had left everything nearly three quarters of a mile southward, and by the immense load Kellam was currently carrying, he seemed to have picked up everything.

"You didn't have to," She said slowly, regaining her composure. "We were bound to go back for it."

"Yeah, but it's not like I had anything else to do." He shrugged, striding off to where most everyone else was gathered to distribute the packs to their owners.

 _I definitely have to remember him next time_. Robin quietly resolved as she dusted herself off, continuing on her way towards where Kellam was. She couldn't afford to be scatterbrained again, especially since she was working as the Shepherds' only functioning Battlefield Tactician, or so she liked to call herself. There was no room for error, no chance what was worth losing one of her new companions. She had to be ready for anything and everything.

 _I just hope I'm not in over my head..._

* * *

 **A/N As something I should have addressed earlier, this story is rated M as a safety net for later chapters. Awakening** _ **is**_ **dubbed Waifu Simulator: 2013 for a reason.**

 **I didn't mention it in the earlier A/N, but I have another excuse as to why this chapter wasn't out sooner. I have my next story already picked out and am playing around with how I can go about writing it. So far, the Prologue is coming along well, and it's exciting thinking about everything I can do with the given material. "What is it going to be about?" I hear you ask. Well, in case it falls through, I'll handle that as top-secret info, but if all goes well I might announce it in a few chapters (if I even manage to get those out).**

 **Again, I'd like to thank everyone for reading this; it's truly amazing that more than five people so much as gave my story a passing glance. Wow, chapter three and I'm already gushing… Well, my thankfulness aside, I have a favor to ask. And, no, it's not about the cover art (though I'm still very much open for that). Instead, I would appreciate ideas I can incorporate into the story. Anything at all can help and is appreciated. Please and thank you in advance.**

 **Also, in case you didn't read the last chapter, though I've no idea why not, v _ir sapit qui pauca loquitur_ means "That man is wise who talks little," hence why I chose it to roast Virion.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **-Storm 2016**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Welcome back! See? I wasn't lying when I said it'd be out soon. H-hey, put the pitchforks and torches away, please. So sue me (please don't actually), but I'm a student, so cut me some slack, okay? Also, I get easily distracted. Any more excuses would seem shallow and whiney, so I'll go shut myself in a closet so I can actually work on this.**

 **I had originally planned on writing the next two levels of the game into a single chapter here, but I procrastinate, so that didn't happen. Sorry, everyone. I guess I'm just more adept at taking this a level at a time.**

 **Until next time~**

 **-Storm 2017**

* * *

"Brrrr… F-F-Frebberick, I'm f-f-freebbing!" Lissa complained with chattering teeth as they plodded further through the snowy forest, following a trail through the decently sparse pines. The treck through the mountains had taken a few weeks, Chrom pushing everyone at a fast pace. Due to their small group, and the newly healed pegasus, the split group had been quick to catch up with the rest of the Shepherds, and Sumia had taken to scouting around from the skies. Their travels had apparently been uneventful aside from a few rumors spreading about ghouls attacking villages, but they remained rumors because when one of the deathly beasts were felled, the bodies disappeared. A dead ringer for the Risen that had started popping up all over the continent.

Apparently, the Shepherds needed to finish their business in Regna Ferox quickly as to travel back through the pass before winter, when it would be nigh impossible to traverse. Which was quite ironic, given that Regna Ferox seemed to have snowy weather almost year-round, with summer having the mildest climate, if the books she had read in Ylisstol had been correct. Winter was the harbinger of the most extreme snowstorms, which would make the pass incredibly dangerous, forcing them to take the route around the mountains. That path would take nearly a season to travel, and by then the pass would have opened again.

"Lean closer to your horse, milady. She'll keep you warm," Frederick was sitting straight up on his charger, not looking bothered by the weather whatsoever even though snow was stuck in the cracks of his armor and piled upon his shoulders. Speaking of which, the metal should have been freezing, but he moved quite normally despite that.

 _Does he even feel the cold?! That guy's not human…_

"Buck up, Lissa. It's not so bad," Chrom chuckled before pausing to sneeze into his cloak, which coaxed a barking laugh out of Robin's mouth, forcing her to directly breathe in the frozen air. The prince smiled shyly back at her, clearly embarrassed if the hand rubbing the back of his neck and the blush creeping onto his face were any indication. Or was that just the cold biting at his like it did her own?

"Stop pretending not to be cold…" Lissa grumbled into her mare's mane, the barb aimed at her brother. Her dainty form was flush to her steed, both her army-standard and personal cloaks wrapped tightly over her hunched back. "And why aren't _you_ complaining about the cold, Robin?" The princess suddenly asked, putting the tactician on the spot.

"This coat is really cozy," Robin explained simply after a moment, pulling her hood lower over her face with numb fingers to block the piercing breeze. Her jacket was indeed quite warm, though it hadn't seemed so while they had been in Ylisstol. If fact, there appeared to be some mild enchantment on the garment, as its heat capacity seemed to fluctuate with the temperature. Or she was just over-thinking things again and the cloth was woven to be so versatile. Not for the first time, Robin cursed herself for not remembering to bring heavy-duty gloves. The ones she had bought in Ylisstol had less function than was necessary for snow and ice, given that they only covered the backs of her hands.

"Can I have it, then?" Lissa asked, her voice raised in hopefulness, snapping the tactician out of her thoughts.

"Nope," Robin replied cheerily as the healer deflated against her horse. After a moment, she continued, "But, I suppose you can borrow my cloak, Your Majesty." The two giggled a little as Lissa perked up again, before Robin tossed her friend the traveling cloak that was draped almost uselessly over her coat. Ever since the incident of Lissa very nearly blackmailing her out of bed, the two had kept the running joke of the princess being a proper lady alive and well.

The Shepherds continued in a chilly silence, in which all of them focused on warming their cold fingers or toes, the exception being Vaike's loud and somewhat annoying voice. The axeman had insisted that he was 'man enough' to manage the trek without his cloak. Or shirt. Or anything on his upper body. Not that Robin was complaining. Despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, Vaike was incredibly charismatic for… a few reasons. Chrom had actually forced the man to put on both garments at the first sign of snow. Actually, as ironic as it was, Vaike probably would have died of hypothermia if he hadn't taken off the only armour he wore; the metal pauldrons that covered his shoulders and neck. The cold steel would have leeched all of the heat from his body, speeding the rate at which he froze.

 _Why do I know all this? Just who was I?_

Robin could feel her mind start to reject the thoughts that tugged painfully at her nonexistent memories, causing the beginnings of a splitting headache. Before the pain could firmly root itself in the back of her skull, the sight before her took her breath away, effectively destroying the train of thought. There, through the tall pines, a large stone fort stretched out in front of them, the ends lost to the snow-filled air. A gatehouse filled a large portion of Robin's vision, the huge cast iron gate starkly contrasting the blinding snow swirling around it. Vaguely, she could also tell the the rest of the Shepherds had stopped behind her.

"So… this is the fortress?" Robin asked cautiously, unsure whether or not this was the same building they had spoken of at the preparation meetings. The Longfort stretched along the Feroxi-Ylissean border, all the way to the Eastern shore; the remnant of times when relations between the two countries had been less than friendly. Things were still a bit tense, but not nearly as bad as they had once been.

"Indeed," Frederick's voice was muffled by the powder snow. "The Khans that rule Regna Ferox are wary of foreigners, but do not mistake lack of hospitality for open hostility." He warned, though whether it was for Chrom or herself, Robin couldn't tell.

"Well, this is going to call for some diplomacy," The prince said aloud, but finished with a mutter that only she and his retainer could hear. "Negotiations aren't exactly my strong suit, but we don't exactly have any other options." In a louder voice, he called out to the rest of the group. "Remember, everyone; your actions here reflect upon the whole of Ylisse. Mind your tongues and try not to insult anyone." They gave out various cries of assent, the most vocal of which was, unsurprisingly, Vaike.

They marched forward, Chrom and Frederick at the head with Lissa and Robin close behind. The tactician was doing her best to discretely survey the upcoming area, and was both helped and harmed by the falling crystals. It was harder to see, but the storm also covered her face, making it nearly unreadable. The hood didn't hurt, either.

There appeared to be two smaller entrances, one on either side of the main one, each with a staircase leading up to presumably locked wooden doors that were set back from the outer shell. While the walls themselves were solid stone brick, the ramparts above were notched and the few windows were tall and thin. Perfect for archers to fire from. A flicker of motion caught Robin's eye before she could truly process this, the dulled glint of metal both amplified and smothered by the snow. Frederick reacted to the threat first.

"Trouble brews, milord," He warned as he motioned for the Shepherds to halt. "The Feroxi Guard are mobilizing."

"What?" The prince exclaimed, squinting to see what his retainer's sharp eye had already caught. "Why?! We've taken no aggressive action!"

"Aside from waltzing up to their front door with a half dozen heavily armoured individuals…" Robin muttered, earning herself a glare from both the Lord and his retainer, with varying levels of intensity. Just as she said this, one of the Feroxi soldiers appeared over the very center of the gate. She was wearing a heavy set of armour, quite unlike most of her fellow Feroxi. Most of them wore mismatched leather tunics or just fur vests, carrying a mixture of lances, axes and swords. Possibly even a few archers were hiding out of view, if they were using the fort to the best of their ability. Even from that distance, some of the weapons seemed roughly repaired, and all of which were somewhat unique, not military staple. Speaking of weapons, those with spears had poised themselves by the edge of the wall, the very sharp tips expertly trained upon Chrom. If the rest of the military reflected these border soldiers' skill, then Regna Ferox had certainly earned the title of Warrior Realm.

"Be careful, Chrom." Robin murmured worriedly, though it was unlikely he heard her.

"I'll be fine. I have a brilliant tactician watching my back," She started, the prince glancing back at her with an assured grin.

"Just don't get cocky," The tactician warned him. Was there a flustered blush sprawled across her own face now? Or just the biting winds turning her cheeks red? "I'm sure everyone would rather have a bad deal than a dead prince."

* * *

"Halt!" The woman in thick steel-plate armour, presumably the commander, cried down at Chrom, her lance in hand. "Who goes there?!" Stepping forward alone, hands clearly in front of him, he called back.

"In the name of House Ylisse, I seek an audience with the Khans!" Silently praying to Naga, he hoped naïvely that simple request would suffice.

"Not another step, my bold lad!" The Feroxi Commander warned as she moved her spear into a ready stance. "I've lancers at the ready!" As if to accentuate her point, the Feroxi soldiers with said weapons shook them menacingly, the jangling of loose metal parts barely reaching his ears.

"Hold, milady!" Frederick called out, jumping from the saddle and stepping forward as well, arms raised in non-threatening positions. "We are not your enemy! Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest."

"My only interest is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!" She snarled, baring her teeth. A couple of shocked gasps emitted from the Shepherds behind Chrom. Most of them had loyally served Ylisse for years; for a few, being called a brigand was as great an insult as being called a murderer. He himself was stung by her words, but before he could calm his companions, Frederick spoke out again, clearly enraged.

"B-brigands!? Now see here-" The prince could tell that his retainer was not going to stop until the Feroxi commander had retracted her comment, so he cut Frederick off before the knight made things worse.

"Milady, as I said earlier, we seek an audience with the Khans to discuss a matter of mutual interest." He said as calmly as he could, resisting the urge to draw Falchion and ask instead for a duel of single combat. Though he had sense enough to continue a diplomatic approach, Emmeryn would also not approve of them fighting to get in, especially when they sought aid.

"Do you really think you're the first 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border?" The commander drawled, as if bored with the Shepherds' presence. "I have authority to fell such importers where they stand!" She spat in their direction, rubbing salt in the wound she had opened moments ago.

"How dare you! You are in the presence of Prince Chrom of Ylisse! Our Grace's own flesh and blood!" Frederick retorted furiously, tensing up as though he wanted to charge the entire gatehouse solo.

"Yes, and I'm the Queen of Valm!" Sarcasm dripped from the Feroxian's tone as she jeered, scowling fiercely. "You do realize that impersonating royalty is a capital offense, yes? Besides, I've seen half a dozen more convincing 'Chrom's than you just this week! I'm done trying to barter with thieves and plunderers. Time to see whether or not your claims hold true!" To punctuate the end of her speech, she flung her spear, and her fellow soldiers followed suit. Chrom had no doubt of the accuracy of the speeding projectiles.

Time slowed down as his senses sharpened to a point, each falling snowflake becoming detailed as though he were looking through a lens, his heart pounding in his head. He could see his life flashing before his eyes, leading up to the moments when he would be impaled. Mother and Father standing proudly above him with a wide-eyed Emmeryn. Him stumbling around, trying to lift Falchion as a child with Father watching on. Lissa gazing up at them out of her cradle as a newborn, already curious of the world. The siblings being told they would never see either Father or Mother ever again. Him training rigorously with Frederick in hopes of living up to his position. Joking around with the Shepherds after missions, usually with alcohol. Finding Robin in the field near Southtown. The Risen, and now Frederick, Robin, Lissa and all of the other Shepherds calling out in desperation, trying to save his life. He reached to unsheath Falchion, but the lances were flying too fast. He would never be able to deflect nor dodge them.

Time sped back up as a sudden, nearly painful force jerked him from the ground, moments before he would have been skewered, and he felt himself land on the back of a creature. Refocusing, he saw the familiar hair of a friend not far from his face, the snow flying past in little white blurs.

"Sumia?" He asked, dazed from the speed at which she had pulled him from the ground. They were skimming through the air with no less ease than horses galloped, the pegasus underneath them seeming quite comfortable with two riders despite being mid-flight. That was most likely due to it being larger than your average charger, with a wingspan of over twice his height.

"Better hang on, Captain. Could get bumpy," Sumia reminded him, looking back with a small smile. "You'll be fine."

His attention was diverted from pondering whether or not he should thank the pegasus as well when sharp objects flew past his gaze, drawing it to the ramparts beneath where Feroxi soldiers were tossing spears at them, the pegasus knight expertly dodging all.

"Sumia!" He repeated over the whistling winds, unsheathing Falchion as he did so.

"Right!" She answered confidently, falling into a steep dive and pulling neatly out of it, landing softly next to the Shepherds.

* * *

Robin, and the rest of the Shepherds, all let out an audible sigh of relief as they realized Sumia had saved Chrom, and focused back upon the enemy. Falling back to the trees, they began to regroup and find their heads again. The Feroxi responsible for the near impaling of the Ylissean prince were scuttling about the ramparts, foot soldiers pouring from the side doors she had noted earlier and archers appearing on the notched outer wall, just as she suspected might happen. While Chrom had been attempting to parlay with the commander, she had been absorbing every detail about the fort and inhabiting army possible from their vantage point. Though it was apparently common knowledge that the soldiers, or even every day people, of Regna Ferox were incredibly strong, it appeared that they had little in the department of strategy. The foot soldiers had no visible attack formation aside from 'don't get in each other's way,' and the archers above seemed to be placed sporadically upon the ramparts.

Turning back to her companions, she glanced around. Everyone was clearly relieved, herself included, some thanking Sumia for her excellent timing, mainly Frederick. The young pegasus knight nodded woodenly, clearly flustered from the attention. As soon as they had all calmed enough to think straight, they all looked to Chrom for directions. He, in turn, looked to her.

"Any ideas, Robin?" He asked, the rest Shepherds, all looked at her for guidance, putting her on the spot. She turned to face the fort, partially to hide her growing nerves and partially to examine the enemy positions. Slowly, a plan began to form, a small smile with it. Facing them again, she answered confidently.

"Yes. Yes I do."

* * *

"And remember, don't kill anyone; we're here to ask for help, not make an enemy." Robin reminded them as she finished, almost as an afterthought. She trusted them, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Each group member nodded after they had been addressed, apparently understanding the plan. The two she had called out at the end of her group-lecture understood the part they played as well. Since she was so new, a few of the more vocal members grumbled a little, but for the most part the Shepherds obeyed her orders without complaint. They separated into their appropriate formations, using the tree line as cover, waiting on her command to charge. Judging from the enemy positions, rate of motion, and range, they still had some time before the optimal time to launch their attack...

"Robin," She whipped around, startled at the voice ripping her from her thoughts.

"What?" She snapped back, but as she turned the bark died in her throat. "Oh. Er, Frederick, what do you need?" She quickly amended herself in a friendlier tone, silently cursing at her thick skull. She should have known better than to snap at anyone, much less the least friendly knight in Ylisse.

"I'll be straight to the point; while your plan is strategically sound, at least at first glance, would it not be more efficient to challenge the commander to one-on-one combat?" He asked calmly, as though she hadn't snapped at him.

"It wouldn't do much good," Robin shook her head, choosing to ignore the barb as she pulled her hood up further against the cold. "She's furious at us; I doubt she would take the request as an honest duel. Would _you_ trust a Plegian's word to a fair fight?" He shook his head adamantly, but clearly didn't want to drop his idea. She sighed.

"Look, if it was possible, I would go with that above any other option. Fewer people, fewer variables, fewer injuries. But the Feroxians aren't just going to let that happen. They expected, and therefore wanted, us to be Plegians. People often believe what they want to, not what is. If only everyone could be open-minded as Emmeryn, the world would be a much better place." Robin didn't realize all she had said until she had finished, startled at her own words. Despite the suddenness of them, she had meant every one. Each syllable of her speech had held true weight and meaning, as though she had experienced the cruelty of the world first-hand. That was certainly possible, but that was a headache for another day. It seemed the less she actually thought, the more she truly was herself. Frederick looked almost as surprised as she felt, but backed away respectfully with a nod, understanding written across his face.

"Truer words could not have come from you," He gave in and turned, striding back to his team, the weight of his words sinking in. It hit her like a brick. He practically expected her to be an enemy; it made sense, as he had only known her a few weeks. It wasn't the worst thing in the world to at least be wary of her, but it still hurt. The Shepherds were the only thing she knew: she had nothing else to fall back upon besides vague intuition and gut instinct. She had simply assumed that they trusted her as she trusted them. But that wasn't how the world worked. She needed to prove herself to them, prove that she was worthy.

Robin shook it out of her head. She didn't need a distraction, and neither did the Shepherds. She was just as important to them as Chrom, and she couldn't disappoint. Though important, the Shepherds could function without her. They had survived without her for a long time, and she wasn't ingrained as an ally as deeply as most. But they couldn't do that without Chrom, and it was her job to keep them all safe.

"Now!" At the single command, the Shepherds rushed forward, battle-cries echoing off the stone walls of the fort. Robin was at the head of her team, brandishing her rapier while casting minor spells single-handed. Had she her book and both hands, she could have used much more devastating magic, but that was not her role to play. She needed to lead from the front, not cast from the back.

Adrenaline pumped through her system as the Feroxi warriors reached the Shepherds, weapons clashing again and again. With a small flourish, Robin struck her first opponent in the side, purposefully slicing at his leather armour. He gritted his teeth at the action, slashing at her with a large axe. She dodged and parried the wild, nearly formless swings, annoying him with more jabs and prods to distract him from the mana pooling in her left hand. A little more positioning, and… she flung her open hand at his chest.

"Wind!" The point-blank spell sent the Feroxian flying backwards into a large pine some distance away, a satisfying _thunk_ and the snapping of branches confirming the hit. He would have a nasty headache and a few broken bones, but nothing magic couldn't heal. Despite the ease that she had disposed of her opponent, had any one of his attacks landed she would have been seriously injured.

Taking a moment to glance around, she saw the other Shepherds in similar bouts: Kellam blocked an arrow from hitting Virion as he returned fire, the red and green knights tag-teaming, their mobility wreaking havoc among the unmounted enemies' ranks. In the distance she could see Miriel's magic flashing through the flurry. All things considered, it was going well.

Something flashed, just outside the field of her vision. Instinct kicked in, her body moving before she could process the danger. A loud clang as metal clashed against metal, and she found herself bracing her rapier with both hands, the Feroxi warrior assaulting her struggling for a vantage. The cold steel started leeching any warmth still in her numb fingers, slowly becoming a little more comfortable to hold. Mentally, she cursed herself for zoning out in the middle of a freaking _battle_.

"Sand-rat," The Feroxi woman spat, the intended effect of the apparent slur lost to Robin. Instead of responding, she roared, throwing her entire weight forward, and with a twist of her blade she disarmed her opponent of her axe in the process.

"You little-" The woman started swearing loudly, which the tactician took as an opportunity to knock her out. Just as Robin was swinging the pommel of her sword, the Feroxian pulled a dagger out of nowhere. Robin had just enough time to lean backwards, gasping as the knife skinned her forehead, stinging with cold and pain. Backing away and assuming a more defensive stance, she lit a fire in her off hand. The dancing light was enough to distract the Feroxian, giving Robin the opening she needed. Shooting the burning magic at her opponent, Robin used it as cover to advance, moving within arms range. As quickly as she could, she pulled the woman into a headlock, cutting off her supply of air until she stopped struggling. With a quick check, Robin made sure she was still breathing, then hurried forward, the wind blowing her hood down.

"M'Lady!" Virion flagged her down, something clutched in his fist. As she approached the archer, she could see it was an iron key. A quick look around told her that they were safe for a moment.

"Well done," She took the key, slipping it into one of her many hidden pockets. There were so many that she was still finding new ones. With a quick flick of the wrist, she pooled a large amount of mana into her palm, creating a fist-sized fireball. She held it in both hands, winding up to toss it high into the air. Just as she was about to release it, an explosion appeared above where the other team was; Miriel's signal that the other team they had acquired their key. With a small smile, Robin released her own fireball, and a similar magic show burst to life above her. The moment the orb left her hand, she swooned slightly, the spell taking more of her power than she had liked. She had to conserve her magic from now on, if she wanted to continue fighting.

"My lady, you are injured!" Virion exclaimed, perhaps because of her apparent exhaustion, making a show of wiping something from her forehead with a handkerchief. Where he had gotten it from, she had no clue, but it was covered in blood when the archer pulled it away.

"Head wounds always bleed excessively, so this is normal," She retorted, trying to cover her signs of weakness, waving him off despite the fact that the cut stung like hell and was probably still bleeding. "We haven't time to fool around like this. I'll be fine."

"If you wish," The archer said respectfully, bowing slightly.

"C'mon, we have to get moving if my plan is going to work," Robin waved for Virion to follow as she made her way to the stone stairway, where the others were already gathering.

"Any serious injuries?" Was the first question out of her mouth, though she could already tell they were fine. A few had similar cuts and scrapes to her own, but nothing potentially life all gave monosyllabic answers in confirmation.

Silently, they lined up at the wooden door, cavaliers unmounted but leading their horses by the reins, Kellam at the front with the appropriated key in hand. Robin had already given the signal that her team was ready: a bolt of lightning, this time, with much the same drain as the previous one. But she had to continue forward. Now, they were just waiting for Miriel's que. They needn't have waited long, as the mage's flare went up quickly.

They burst through the doorway, Virion hanging back near the choke point with Robin. She could see Chrom's team pouring out onto the ramparts, Frederick already back on his horse. Between them were the remaining Feroxi Guard, in a tight defensive formation. Their commander was near to the center, dismay and hatred clear on her sharp features. Slowly, the Shepherds advanced, spreading out so that they semi-surrounded the Feroxians.

"Ready to surrender?" Chrom called out, a barely distinguishable note of hope in his voice.

"Plegian Scum!" The knight shrieked back. "How dare you kill my people and expect no resistance!" Frederick seemed ready to actually spear her, but the Prince stopped him with a raised arm.

"On the contrary," He spoke calmly, stepping forward after sheathing Falchion, "You'll find them completely alive, if not bruised. Not one life was taken today," He then nodded at Robin, who let out a short burst of electricity over the wall, into dead air. A few moments later, Sumia rose from the ground below, her pegasus burdened by two additional riders. One was Lissa, who was trying to keep the third, a struggling guard, from tumbling off the creature.

As amusing as it must have been to watch them land, the tactician struggled to stay upright after that last display of magic, instantly wishing she hadn't as a wave of nausea rolled over her. She had no strength, and breathing was becoming harder by the minute. Chrom continued to speak with the Commander, but she could no longer hear what they were saying, their voices melding into one sound and vision blurring.

"Lady Robin?" Someone was speaking to her. Turning slightly, she could see Virion at her shoulder, looking worried: a rare expression, for him. "I apologise to say, but you look ill."

"I… I'm fine." Was her only answer, but clearly was not the case. Her voice started ringing inside her own head, and the world was becoming darker by the moment.

"I'll… be..." She couldn't finish the sentence, instead collapsing forward, though not remembering if she hit the ground or not.

* * *

 **A/N This was supposed to be out in December, but you can see how that ended up. You have no one to blame but me and my lazy ass, and that I totally didn't overhauled a good chunk of this last-minute, so I apologise. In the meantime, what did you think of this one? I hope the fight scene was easy enough to follow: they're difficult to choreograph.**

 **Also… NOHRIAN SCUM! ...okay, just had to get that out of my system after that one line.**

 **One small note completely unrelated to everything else, you might have noticed I switched the rating to T. Nothing of note is going to happen for a while, so I'll keep the lower rating until them.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed. Please come back next time, when we'll finally find out what happened to Robin. Also world-building.**

 **-Storm 2017**


	5. An update, which I should do more

It's been nearly exactly a year to the day since I first uploaded. Huh. Time sure goes fast when your back is turned. Would've uploaded this then, but I'm gonna be super busy from now 'til... I want to say mid September at the latest? Pertaining to my seeming inability to upload, there really isn't an excuse. I don't tend to write without some form of inspiration because I don't want to give you guys something half-assed that even I don't care for. My original inspiration was simply to show my love for Fire Emblem, so there was no planning or anything of the sort. Just me writing for the sake of it.

As such, I've decided to redo this series so it can actually turn into something worth reading. Fixing things like continuity and the like. And actually having a plan. I'll keep everything as is until the revamped version is ready, when I'll delete everything but the first chapter, which I'll keep as a one-shot. A record of my beginnings, if you will, if only to compare myself now and then. It was never the best start to a story, anyways. I don't know what I'm going to do with the commentary. Maybe change it a bit or add a few new lines, stuff like that. I dunno, I'm rambling at this point. I do intend to hold to my promise and finish this, just not as I had originally thought.

As to why I feel I have to rewrite this, it's mostly because of one big factor: Robin. There's hundreds of Robins out there nearly identical to the one I've made, and I feel I could be much more creative with someone who's essentially a blank slate. Even though Robin does have a "canon" personality, they're also one of the most interesting characters to play around with, and as such there's no guarantee Robin stay entirely canon. I've already brainstormed a couple interesting ideas, so we'll see how it goes. And to those curious about that cliffhanger, the resolution is coming. I'm not so evil as to forever keep that bit out of the redo.

In the meantime, I have a Fire Emblem one-shot to help tide you guys over until my plans have come to fruition.

So, until then~

-Storm 2017


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